Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appeared before a magistrate's court in Surat on Thursday to record his final statement in a criminal defamation suit filed by a Gujarat MLA over the former's remark on the "Modi surname".

BJP legislator from Surat Purnesh Modi had filed a complaint against Gandhi in April 2019 under IPC Sections 499 and 500, that deal with defamation.

A week back, Surat's Chief Judicial Magistrate A N Dave directed Gandhi to remain present in the court on June 24 to record his final statement in the case.

In his complaint, the MLA had alleged that Gandhi defamed the entire Modi community by saying "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?" while addressing a poll rally in 2019.

During the election rally held at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019, Gandhi had reportedly asked, "Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi...how come they all have Modi as the common surname. How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?"

Rahul Gandhi was the Congress president when he had made this remark.

Gandhi earlier appeared before the court in October 2019 and pleaded not guilty for his comment.