Gujarat HC Refuses Interim Protection to Rahul Gandhi in defamation Case, verdict reserved

New Delhi (India), May 2, 2023: The Gujarat High Court has refused interim protection to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the Modi surname case while reserving its verdict on his plea for a stay on his conviction.

A lower court convicted Rahul Gandhi on March 23 for his 2019 comment, “How come all thieves have Modi’s surname in common?” and sentenced him to two years imprisonment, which disqualified him as an MP. Rahul Gandhi approached a higher court, which upheld the lower court’s verdict, following which he approached the high court.

Representing Rahul Gandhi in the high court, Abhishek Singhvi argued that the consequences of denying a stay on the verdict would be irreversible, causing drastic consequences for re-election. However, the complainant, BJP’s Purnesh Modi’s lawyer Nirupam Nanavaty, countered that an elected person loses the right to be a representative of the people, and the people of the constituency lose their voice.

The verdict has been reserved, and Justice Hemant Prachchhak concluded the hearing before leaving India on May 5. Rahul Gandhi’s conviction and disqualification as an MP have brought opposition parties together against what they call “BJP’s vendetta politics.” Congress alleges that the case was pursued soon after Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha speech, in which he questioned the relationship between PM Modi and Adani.

In this high-profile case, the court’s verdict will decide Rahul Gandhi’s political fate and the extent of freedom of speech in the country. The issue has already polarized the political landscape, and the verdict is awaited with bated breath by both the Congress and the BJP.