Surat court rejects Rahul Gandhi’s plea seeking stay on conviction in defamation case

New Delhi (India), April 20, 2023: A Surat sessions court on Thursday rejected the application filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking stay on his conviction in the 2019 defamation case on ‘Modi surname’ remark.

He had filed a plea to stay his conviction in the 2019 Modi-surname case.

Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison by a lower court, which subsequently disqualified him from the Lok Sabha. If the court grants Gandhi’s request for a stay on the lower court’s ruling, it could potentially lead to his reinstatement as an MP.

The case began in 2019 when Gandhi, during a rally in Karnataka, questioned why “all thieves have the Modi surname in common,” a comment that drew a complaint from Gujarat BJP leader Purnesh Modi. Gandhi’s conviction and subsequent disqualification from the Lok Sabha sparked accusations of political vendetta from the Congress party.

Gandhi’s lawyers filed two applications, one for a stay on the sentence and another for a stay on conviction. During a hearing on April 13, both parties presented their arguments, and the court reserved its verdict for April 20. Gandhi has also begun the process of vacating his official bungalow, which he was asked to do by April 22.

Opposing Gandhi’s stay plea, Purnesh Modi described him as a “repeat offender” who makes defamatory statements. Gandhi’s lawyer, however, claimed that he was treated harshly at the stage of determining his sentence and that the maximum sentence has caused him irreparable loss.

The Surat court’s ruling on Gandhi’s appeal could have significant implications for the Congress leader’s political future, and the verdict is eagerly awaited by his supporters and opponents alike.