The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday directed that no coercive action be taken against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi surname defamation case. The court's decision comes as a relief to Gandhi, who is facing charges of defaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi by linking the surname "Modi" to corruption during a political rally.

The ruling was announced on Tuesday by Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi, who stated that Gandhi would not face any immediate coercive action such as arrest or detention related to the case. The court ordered that the next hearing on the matter would take place on August 16.

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha on March 24, 2023, after being convicted and sentenced to two-year imprisonment on charges of criminal defamation for comments he made on PM Modi's surname.

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In 2019, during a political rally in Karnataka's Kolar, Gandhi remarked, "Why do all thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi, have Modi in their names?"

Following his implication that PM Modi is a thief, advocate Pradip Modi filed a criminal defamation case in Ranchi in 2019. The Congress leader has three defamation suits against him in Jharkhand alone.

On June 16, Gandhi sought more time for his appearance in front of a special court in Ranchi. The court of magistrate Anamika Kisku had on May 3 rejected the petition of Gandhi for exemption from personal appearance in the matter.

In a similar case, Gandhi was convicted by a Surat court on March 23. The next day, the Congress leader was disqualified as a Member of Parliament.