Rahul Gandhi insulted all persons with Modi surname for his political interest: Surat court in conviction order

Rahul Gandhi insulted all persons with the surname 'Modi', a magistrate court in Gujarat's Surat said while convicting and sentencing the Congress leader to two years' imprisonment in a criminal defamation case [Purnesh Modi v. Rahul Gandhi]..Judge Hadirash Varma said that since Gandhi is a Member of Parliament (MP), whatever he says will have a greater impact. Thus, he should have exercised restraint."The accused had taken the reference of the surname of the current Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, to satisfy his political greed and insulted and defamed 13 crore people living in the whole of India having the surname 'Modi'," the judge held. .The Court in its 168-page judgment in Gujarati further stated that though Gandhi has contented that he did not intend to humiliate people with the surname 'Modi', he failed to adduce evidence to show any change in his conduct."The accused himself is an MP and the matter of him addressing the people as an MP is a very serious issue because, when an MP addresses the public in the capacity of a parliamentarian, it has a very wide impact on the public. The seriousness of the crime is greater if the accused is an MP and the public if the accused is punished less, it sends a wrong message to the society," the order stated..The case pertains to Gandhi's 'controversial' speech delivered in Kolar during the 2019 political campaign, wherein he had linked Prime Minister Narendra Modi with fugitives like Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi. He had said, "Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi. How come all the thieves have 'Modi' as a common surname?"Purnesh Modi, a former BJP Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) took exception to the said speech claiming that Gandhi humiliated and defamed persons with the Modi surname..In the judgment, Judge Varma noted that the only defence that Gandhi made was that he never intended to hurt people with the surname Modi and that the electronic evidence (of his speech) placed before the court was tampered with.The court, however, noted that the present complaint was filed due to the personal, physical, mental and social trauma suffered by the complainant owing to the defamatory words used by Gandhi. Through his speech, people with the Modi surname were defamed and looked down upon in society, the court opined..The court noted that the controversial statement made by Gandhi was proved beyond reasonable doubt not only by electronic evidence, but also by the statements of witnesses who were present at the rally."The present complaint has not been filed on the grounds of public defamation. But the present complaint was filed on account of the pain caused to the complainant himself. He (Gandhi) used the word 'Modi' intentionally to insult individuals. The prosecution has thus proved the case beyond reasonable doubt," the judge held. Gandhi had submitted that he does not discriminate against anyone and that he loves and cherishes all citizens of this country.However, the court declined to give a lenient sentence stating that a lesser punishment would send a wrong message to the society."Although the present offense has been committed by the accused and the present accused is an MP and if he is given lesser punishment then wrong message will be sent to the society. Further, even his conduct needs to be taken into account," the order stated..[Read Judgment]