Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, was ordered by a MP-MLA court in Patna on Wednesday to physically appear before it on April 25 in a defamation case brought by Sushil Kumar Modi, a former deputy chief minister of Bihar and a prominent member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), regarding his remark about the Modi surname.
In a statement counsels representing Sushil Modi, SD Sanjay and Priya Gupta said that “Rahul Gandhi had to physically appear before the court today to record his statement under Section 313 of the CRPC but he deliberately did not appear before the court. However, he is engaged in a rally in Kerala. So I prayed to the court to cancel his bail bond on the grounds of non-appearance.”
Gupta stated that she was opposed to Gandhi’s advocate’s petition under Section 317 of the CRPC. “Taking serious note, the court ordered Rahul’s advocate to appear in court on April 25,” she added.
Section 313 grants the trial court the authority to question the accused in order for him to explain evidence presented against him. According to Section 317, the presence of an accused in a trial or inquiry can be excused by the judge or Magistrate if the court deems it appropriate.