Defamation Case: Rahul Gandhi Moves SC After Gujarat HC Refusal To Stay Conviction In Modi Remark Matter

Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday filed a petition in Supreme Court after Gujarat High Court refused to stay his conviction in a defamation case over Modi surname remark.

File Photo Of Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi ( Image Source :PTI )

Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday (July 15) petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the Gujarat High Court's refusal to stay his conviction in the 'Modi surname' criminal defamation case. His disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP resulted from his conviction in the case. On July 7, the high court dismissed Gandhi's petition and upheld the Sessions Court's order denying a stay of execution.

Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament on March 24, 2023, after a Gujarat court convicted and sentenced him to two years in prison on criminal defamation charges for his April 13, 2019 remark, "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?"

A stay of execution on Gandhi's conviction could pave the way for his re-election as a Lok Sabha MP. However, neither the sessions court nor the Gujarat High Court has granted him relief.

The complainant, BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, had previously filed a caveat in the Supreme Court requesting that he be heard if Congress leader Rahul Gandhi files a petition challenging the high court verdict.

The high court dismissed Gandhi's appeal, stating that "purity in politics is now the need of the hour." It also stated that the people's representatives should be "men of clear antecedent" and that a stay on conviction is not a rule, but an exception used only in exceptional circumstances, and that there was no reasonable ground to stay his conviction.

"Rahul Gandhi is seeking a stay on conviction on absolutely non-existent grounds," the court added, noting that refusing to stay the conviction would result in no injustice to the applicant.

Rahul Gandhi, 53, was disqualified as a Member of Parliament under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act after a metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat sentenced him to two years in prison after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation).

Rahul Gandhi is facing ten criminal charges. A complaint was also filed against Gandhi in Pune Court by Veer Savarkar's grandson after Gandhi used terms against Veer Savarkar at Cambridge.