’Rahul Gandhi’s conviction just, proper’: Gujarat HC dismisses his plea in Modi surname case

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, July 07, 2023: In a big setback for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Gujarat high court on Friday upheld the Sessions court’s order denying a stay on the conviction of his plea in a defamation case over his 2019 Modi surname remark. The court, while pronouncing the verdict, said "the order is just, proper and legal".

The refusal of stay of conviction won’t result in injustice to him, the court said.

 

"There is no reasonable ground to stay the conviction. The trial court’s order is just, proper and legal and there is no need to interfere with the said order. The disqualification is not limited to only MPs and MLAs," the court said.

The court further noted that at least 10 criminal cases are pending against Rahul Gandhi. "It is a well-settled principle that the stay of conviction is not a rule but an exception to be resorted in rare cases," the court further said.

"It is needed to have purity in politics. A complaint has been filed against (Gandhi) by the grandson of Veer Savarkar in Pune Court after Gandhi used terms against Veer Savarkar at Cambridge," the court said.

Rahul Gandhi will not be able to contest elections or seek revocation of the suspension of his status as a Member of Parliament (MP). AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal said, "We will move the Supreme Court against Gujarat high court’s order dismissing Rahul Gandhi’s plea to stay his conviction in defamation case."

In May, the court had denied interim protection to Rahul Gandhi in the case and had reserved his plea under consideration.

During a hearing on April 29, Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer had argued that a maximum punishment of two years for a bailable, non-cognisable offence meant his client could lose his Lok Sabha seat "permanently and irreversibly", which was a "very serious additional irreversible consequence to the person and the constituency he represents".

A stay on the conviction would have paved the way for Gandhi’s reinstatement as a Member of Parliament.

MODI SURNAME CASE

On March 23, Surat Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma had convicted Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case and sentenced him to two years of imprisonment. A day after the court’s order, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha.

After he was granted bail by the court, Gandhi’s lawyer, Kirit Panwala, applied for an appeal against the judgment in the Surat Additional Session Court of Justice RP Mogera.

The case was filed against Gandhi for his alleged “How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remarks on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.

Rahul Gandhi made the alleged remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress leader challenged the order in a sessions court in Surat along with an application seeking a stay on the conviction. While granting him bail, the court, on April 20, refused to stay the conviction, after which he approached the high court.

Reacting to the court’s judgement, BJP MLA Purnesh Modi said, "We welcome today’s verdict by the high court. Everyone should accept the court’s order. That is Satyamev Jayate in its real sense."

Courtesy: India Today