Surat court extends Rahul Gandhi's bail, next hearing on April 13

The Surat Sessions Court on Monday granted Rahul Gandhi bail until his appeal is disposed of in the defamation case related to his comment during a political campaign in April 2019, where he asked "why all thieves share the Modi surname".

The next hearing for the case is scheduled for April 13. Although the court did not stay Gandhi's conviction today, a notice has been given to the complainant, Purnesh Modi, regarding Gandhi's plea to stay his conviction. Modi has until April 10th to file a response. The court said that Gandhi need not to remain present on next day of hearing.

Rahul Gandhi has filed two applications along with appeal

An appeal and two applications were filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the Surat Sessions Court today, seeking to challenge his conviction. The first application is for Suspension of Sentence, which is essentially a regular bail application, while the second application is for Suspension of Conviction.

If the second application is granted, his Lok Sabha membership will be reinstated, provided that the Secretariat of the Lok Sabha issues a notification regarding this matter.

Party backs Rahul Gandhi, senior leaders present in Surat

Rahul Gandhi has challenged the order of the Surat court that sentenced him to two years in jail for criminal defamation in relation to his "Modi surname" comments in a 2019 case. To show support, several high-profile Congress leaders, such as Priyanka Gandhi, the chief ministers of three Congress-ruled states, and other national and state party leaders, will accompany Rahul to the Surat court.

After leaving the court, Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and wrote: "This is a fight to save democracy, against 'Mitrakal'. In this struggle, truth is my weapon, and truth is my support!"

What did Rahul Gandhi Say?

The Congress MP, ahead of General Assembly polls of 2019, during his rally in Karnataka's Kolar took a swipe at Narendra Modi. He asked the attendees as to why all thieves share the same last name and proceeds to name PM Modi, Nirav Modi and others.