Surat: A Sessions Court in Surat is likely to pass an order on an interim application filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking a stay on his conviction in a 2019 defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark on April 20.

The defamation case was filed by Surat-based BJP MLA and former minister Purnesh Modi against Rahul’s remark made in a rally on April 13, 2019, in Karnataka’s Kolar, where he said that how come ‘all thieves have Modi as the common surname’.

In March, Rahul Gandhi was found guilty in this criminal defamation case by a Surat court and was sentenced to two years in prison. As a result of the conviction, Rahul Gandhi also lost his membership of parliament. Following this, his lawyer Kirit Panwala filed an appeal against the verdict in the Surat Additional Sessions Court of Justice R P Mogera. On April 3, Rahul Gandhi filed a plea to stay the conviction. The court ordered Modi’s lawyer to file a reply by April 11, which was done on Tuesday.

Today, after hearing the matter, the bench of Justice R P Mogera has decided to announce the verdict on April 20th.DeshGujarat.