Need help with sticky post on homepage

Hello, I'm trying to show full text for sticky post on homepage. Achieved it to some extent by modifying the content.php. But there is an unwanted gap between the 1st and 2nd para of sticky post that I couldn't remove. I would appreciate it very much if someone could help me resolve it. Site url - http://www.banglamovienews.com/ Content.php code -

<?php
 /**
 * This is the template that displays content for index and archive page
 *
 * @package Catch Themes
 * @subpackage Simple_Catch
 * @since Simple Catch 1.3.2
 */ ?>
<?php 
	
	if ( have_posts() ) :
	while( have_posts() ):
	the_post();
	global $simplecatch_options_settings;
	$options = $simplecatch_options_settings;
	$themeoption_layout = $options[ 'sidebar_layout' ];
	?>	
		<div <?php  post_class(); ?> >
			<?php  if ( is_sticky() ) : ?>
                <h2 class="entry-title"><a>" title="<?php  printf( esc_attr__( 'Permalink to %s', 'simplecatch' ), the_title_attribute( 'echo=0' ) ); ?>" rel="bookmark" >Bangla Movie <?php  the_title(); ?> Review</a></h2>
                <ul class="post-by">
                    <li class="no-padding-left"><a>" title="<?php  echo esc_attr(get_the_author_meta( 'display_name' ) ); ?>"><?php  _e( 'By', 'simplecatch' ); ?>&nbsp;<?php  the_author_meta( 'display_name' ); ?></a></li>
                    <li><?php 
	$simplecatch_date_format = get_option( 'date_format' );
	the_time( $simplecatch_date_format );
	?></li>
                    <li class="last"><?php  comments_popup_link( __( 'No Comments', 'simplecatch' ), __( '1 Comment', 'simplecatch' ), __( '% Comments', 'simplecatch' ) ); ?></li>
                </ul>
			<a>" title="<?php  printf( esc_attr__( 'Permalink to %s', 'simplecatch' ), the_title_attribute( 'echo=0' ) ); ?>"><?php  the_post_thumbnail('thumbnail', array('class' => 'alignright')); ?></a>
			<?php  the_content(''); ?>
			<a>">Continue Reading &rarr;</a>
			<?php  else : ?>
			<?php 
	//If category has thumbnail it displays thumbnail and excerpt of content else excerpt only 
	
	if ( has_post_thumbnail() ) :
	?>
				<div class="col3 post-img">
					<a>" title="<?php  printf( esc_attr__( 'Permalink to %s', 'simplecatch' ), the_title_attribute( 'echo=0' ) ); ?>"><?php  the_post_thumbnail( 'featured' ); ?></a>
				</div> <!-- .col3 -->  
				<?php 
	
	if( $themeoption_layout == 'no-sidebar-full-width' ) {
		echo '<div class="col9">';
	} else {
		echo '<div class="col5">';
	} else :
	
	if( $themeoption_layout == 'no-sidebar-full-width' ) {
		echo '<div class="col12">';
	} else {
		echo '<div class="col8">';
	}

	endif;
	?> 
                <h2 class="entry-title"><a>" title="<?php  printf( esc_attr__( 'Permalink to %s', 'simplecatch' ), the_title_attribute( 'echo=0' ) ); ?>" rel="bookmark" ><?php  the_title(); ?></a></h2>
                <ul class="post-by">
                    <li class="no-padding-left"><a>" title="<?php  echo esc_attr(get_the_author_meta( 'display_name' ) ); ?>"><?php  _e( 'By', 'simplecatch' ); ?>&nbsp;<?php  the_author_meta( 'display_name' ); ?></a></li>
                    <li><?php 
	$simplecatch_date_format = get_option( 'date_format' );
	the_time( $simplecatch_date_format );
	?></li>
                    <li class="last"><?php  comments_popup_link( __( 'No Comments', 'simplecatch' ), __( '1 Comment', 'simplecatch' ), __( '% Comments', 'simplecatch' ) ); ?></li>
                </ul>					
					<?php  the_excerpt(); ?>
      		</div>
		<?php  endif; ?>   
        	<div class="row-end"></div>
    </div><!-- .post -->
    <hr />
	<?php  endwhile; ?>
	<?php  simplecatch_content_nav( 'nav-below' ); ?>
<?php  else : ?>
    <div class="post">
        <h2><?php  _e( 'Not found', 'simplecatch' ); ?></h2>
        <?php  _e( 'Apologies, but no results were found for the requested archive. Perhaps searching will help find a related post.', 'simplecatch' ); ?>

        <?php  get_search_form(); ?>
    </div><!-- .post -->
<?php  endif; ?>