Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court Friday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark. The decision has effectively closed the avenue for the Congress leader to be reinstated as Member of Parliament ahead of the Monsoon session scheduled later this month.
Justice Hemant Prachchhak who delivered the verdict disallowed the plea. The court upheld the sessions court's order denying stay on conviction of Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case against 'Modi surname' remark. The judge had earlier refused to grant interim relief as sought by the disqualified Parliamentarian while hearing the plea. The judge had stated that the final order would be issued after the conclusion of the court's vacation, and the proceedings resumed in mid-June.
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.
Consequently, following the conviction, Rahul Gandhi, who had been elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala, was disqualified as a Member of Parliament under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla enforced this disqualification.
Gandhi challenged this order in a sessions court in Surat, but his plea for a stay on the conviction was rejected. However, he was granted bail by the sessions court on April 20. Subsequently, he filed an appeal at the Gujarat High Court after the sessions court ruling.
