Setback for Rahul Gandhi

A sessions court in Gujarat’s Surat on Thursday rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark. A stay order from the court could have paved the way for the reinstatement of Rahul Gandhi’s Parliament membership. Now, with the rejection of his plea, the former Member of Parliament from Wayanad will have to wait further for relief in the case. Some senior Congress leaders said that the party will now appeal against the order in the Gujarat High Court. Reacting to the judgement, Congress leader Rashid Alvi said that no leader has been awarded a maximum punishment of two years in a defamation case and the Congress will appeal against the order in the higher court. The Surat court of Additional Sessions Judge RP Mogera had on April 13 reserved its verdict on Rahul Gandhi’s application for a stay on conviction. Rahul Gandhi had filed his plea on April 3 seeking a stay on a lower court’s order sentencing him to two years in jail in the defamation case. In his plea, the former MP had had submitted that the trial court’s tratment towards him in the case was harsh after being overwhelmingly influenced by his status as an MP. During an election rally in Kolar of Karnataka on April 13, 2019, Rahul Gandhi had said, “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” Gujarat BJP MLA MLA Purnesh Modi had then filed a case against Gandhi under sections 499 and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code. On March 23 this year, the trial court convicted Gandhi in the case while awarding him a maximum punishment of two years. The court had also granted a bail to Gandhi while allowing him 30 days to appeal against the order.