A Gujarat High Court judge on Wednesday recused herself from hearing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s appeal against the order of the Surat sessions court that refused to stay his conviction in the 2019 criminal defamation case, concerning his 'Modi surname' remark. After a brief hearing, Justice Gita Gopi said "not before me" to Gandhi's lawyer P S Champaneri, who had appeared before the court for an urgent hearing. Champaneri said the court had allowed the matter for Wednesday, but recused herself when it came up for hearing.
A note will be sent to the acting Chief Justice for the matter to be taken up by some other court. The case was requested to be taken up in the court of Justice Gita Gopi because she deals with the subject of criminal revision, Champaneri added.
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In March, a metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat sentenced the then-Congress MP to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (dealing with criminal defamation) in a case filed by Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, Purnesh Modi, in 2019. Soon after the verdict, Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament according to the Representation of the People Act. He challenged the order in a sessions court in Surat along with a plea to stay the conviction. While the court granted him bail, it rejected the Congress leader's application for a stay on his conviction.
BJP MLA Purnesh Modi had filed the criminal defamation case against Gandhi over his remark - "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?". Gandhi had made the comment in an election rally in Kolar, Karnataka, on April 13, 2019. If the High Court stays Gandhi's conviction, it may pave the way for his reinstatement as a Member of Parliament. At present, Gandhi is on bail in the case.
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