New Delhi: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has moved the Supreme Court to challenge the Gujarat High Court verdict declining his plea in which he sought a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his Modi surname.
Purnesh Modi, the complainant in the defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Gujarat, has also filed a caveat in the apex court anticipating an appeal by Gandhi challenging the High Court judgment. On July 7, the high court declined Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his Modi surname.
High Court judge Justice Hemant Prachchhak who delivered the verdict disallowed the plea. The court upheld the sessions court's order denying a stay on the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case. The judge had earlier refused to grant interim relief as sought by the disqualified Parliamentarian while hearing the plea.
Rahul Gandhi's lawyer argued that his client if subjected to the maximum punishment of two years for a bailable, non-cognisable offense, would lose his Lok Sabha seat "permanently and irreversibly." This consequence was deemed a serious additional burden for both Gandhi personally and the constituency he represents. The lawyer emphasized the irreversible nature of this outcome.
The criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi stemmed from his 2019 remark made during an election rally in Kolar, Karnataka. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Purnesh Modi, representing Surat West, filed the case in response to Gandhi's statement questioning how "all thieves have Modi as the common surname”.
On March 23, 2023, a metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat convicted Gandhi under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertain to criminal defamation, and sentenced him to two years in prison.
Also read: Modi surname case: Timeline of the criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi
