A court in Surat in Gujarat on Thursday will deliver its verdict in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his "Modi surname" remarks, party leaders said.
The case was filed against Mr Gandhi for his alleged “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remarks on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.
The Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad made the alleged remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma had last week concluded hearing final arguments from both sides and set March 23 to pronounce its judgment in the four-year-old defamation case, Mr Gandhi's lawyer Kirit Panwala had said.
Mr Gandhi had last appeared before the Surat court in the case, filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (dealing with defamation), in October 2021 to record his statement.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Maharashtra Polls: What's At Stake?
PM Modi Visits Guyana, Aims To Strengthen Cultural Ties, Energy Links India, Australia Launch Renewable Energy Partnership As PM Modi, Anthony Albanese Meet At G20 Summit, PM Modi Calls For Efforts Towards A More Sustainable Future AR Rahman, Wife Saira Announce Separation After 29 Years Of Marriage Ukraine Hits Russia With Long-Range US Missile After Biden's Approval "Exposed": BJP Alleges Bitcoin Scam In Maharashtra Poll, Supriya Sule Reacts Key Seats To Watch In Jharkhand Assembly Elections Netanyahu Makes Rare Gaza Visit, Says "Hamas Will Never Rule Again" Trump Names Howard Lutnick As Commerce Secretary In Key Transition Pick Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.