Bihar court summons Rahul Gandhi in defamation case

Patna: A Bihar court, here on Saturday, issued a summon to Congress President Rahul Gandhi in connection with a defamation case filed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Sashikant Rai summoned Gandhi on May 20 for his statement that "all thieves have Modi in their surnames".

The Deputy Chief Minister had filed a defamation case against Gandhi last week and on Friday he appeared before the court in pursuance of his case. The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said his image had been tarnished by the Congress chief's remark.

The court took cognisance of the statement under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code, which relates to defamation.