Rahul Gandhi’s plea for stay on defamation conviction dismissed by Surat court

Mangalore Today News Network

Surat, April 20, 2023: A sessions court in Surat on Thursday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s plea for a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark.

 

The court of Additional Sessions Judge RP Mogera had on last Thursday reserved its verdict for April 20 on Gandhi’s application for a stay on conviction pending his appeal against a lower court’s order sentencing him to two years in jail in the case.

Gandhi had submitted that the trial court treated him harshly after being overwhelmingly influenced by his status as an MP.

If the court today stayed or suspended Rahul Gandhi’s conviction, the Congress leader could have been reinstated in Parliament.

The 52-year-old politician was elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala in 2019 but was disqualified a day after a metropolitan magistrate court in Surat on March 23 sentenced him to two years in jail in the case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Purnesh Modi under sections 499 and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Purnesh Modi had filed a criminal defamation case against Gandhi over his remarks, “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” made during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019.

In his submission, Gandhi said that if the March 23 judgment of the trial court is not suspended and stayed, it will cause irreparable damage to his reputation.

The Congress leader said that he was sentenced in a manner so as to attract the order of disqualification because the trial court was well aware of his status as a Parliamentarian.

Courtesy: India Today