Rahul Gandhi Moves Gujarat High Court Seeking Stay On Conviction In 'Modi Surname' Case

Rahul Gandhi has reportedly approached the Gujarat High Court against a lower court order convicting him in the 'Modi surname' defamation case.

Rahul Gandhi's appeal against conviction in the 'Modi surname' case was dismissed by a Surat court last week.

Source : Instagram@RahulGandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has reportedly approached the Gujarat High Court against a lower court order convicting him in the 'Modi surname' defamation case. Rahul Gandhi's appeal against conviction in the 'Modi surname' case was dismissed by a Surat court last week. The matter is likely to be heard by a single-judge bench soon, reported Live Law.

A metropolitan magistrate court on March 23 sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail after convicting him under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code for criminal defamation in the case filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi. It sentenced him to two years imprisonment, leading to his disqualification. He had challenged the magisterial court order in the sessions court in Surat, which rejected his appeal to set aside the conviction. 

A day after his disqualification, the Lok Sabha Secretariat sent Gandhi a notice to vacate the premises by April 22. Last week, nearly a month after he was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP, Rahul Gandhi vacated the 12, Tughlaq Lane bungalow.

The Congress on Thursday said it will continue to avail all options still available under the law after a Gujarat court rejected Rahul Gandhi's application for a stay. "A wrong verdict has been affirmed, we will use our alternatives," Congress leader and senior advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi said addressing a presser.

RELIEF FROM PATNA HIGH COURT

The Patna High Court on Monday, however, granted relief to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, staying the order of a lower court till May 15, 2023, in the 'Modi surname' case. Rahul Gandhi had appealed against an order asking him to appear in a Patna court over a case filed by BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi. Rahul’s counsel said that all lower court proceedings have been stayed till May 15 as the matter was already under trial in the Surat court.

The case was registered against Gandhi following the Purnesh Modi's complaint 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.

(With PTI inputs.)