New Delhi: The plea of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenging the order of Surat sessions court refusing a stay to his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark will now be heard by a new judge of the Gujarat High Court today, news agency PTI reported.
As per the cause list published on Thursday by the Gujarat High Court, Rahul Gandhi's appeal will be heard by Justice Hemant Prachchhak on April 29.
Earlier on April 26, Justice Gita Gopi of Gujarat High Court recused herself from hearing the criminal revision application of the Congress leader saying "not before me," a day after Rahul Gandhi moved the High Court challenging the sessions court order.
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It is to be noted that a metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat on March 23 had sentenced the former Congress president to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in a 2019 case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi.
Following the verdict, Rahul Gandhi, elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala in 2019, was disqualified as a Member of Parliament (MP) under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.
He then challenged the order in a sessions court in Surat along with a plea seeking a stay to his conviction. However, while granting him bail, the court on April 20 refused to stay the conviction.
Notably, Purnesh Modi had filed a criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over his remark during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019, where he said, “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?”
It is to be noted that a stay to the conviction could pave the way for Rahul Gandhi's reinstatement as a Member of Parliament.