'Conviction Lawful': Gujarat HC Rejects Rahul Gandhi's Plea in Defamation Case

Earlier this year, Rahul Gandhi had been convicted in a criminal defamation case & sentenced to 2 years in jail.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

(Photo: The Quint)

The Gujarat High Court on Friday, 7 July, refused to stay Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's conviction in the criminal defamation case filed against him over his 2019 “Modi surname” remark and dismissed his plea against the said conviction.

As Justice Hemant Prachchhak read out the operative part of the verdict on Friday, he affirmed that the previous decision of the Sessions court, which declined to halt the conviction, was deemed "fair and lawful."

Previously: A Sessions Court in Surat on 20 April had rejected Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction.

How this started: A Surat Magistrate court on 23 March, had convicted Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail for his comment that allegedly said "all people with Modi surname are thieves" that he made during an election rally in Kolar in April 2019.

The first court order: Justice Hadirash Varma, in his 168-page judgment, had pointed out that as a Member of Parliament (MP), Gandhi wields significant influence, and therefore, he should have exercised caution and self-control.

The judge asserted, "The accused had taken the reference of the surname of the current Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, to satisfy his political greed and insulted and defamed 13 crore people living in the whole of India having the surname 'Modi."

He was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha a day later.

What else does the High Court order say? "(Gandhi) is seeking a stay on conviction on absolutely non-existent grounds. Stay on conviction is not a rule. As many as 10 cases are pending against (Gandhi). It is needed to have purity in politics," Justice Prachchhak said, while pronouncing the order on Friday.

Acknowledging that granting stays in such cases is uncommon, the High Court, emphasised that Gandhi would not face any injustice if the conviction were not stayed.

Nonetheless, the court emphasised the need for the criminal appeal to be determined based on its own merits and with the utmost urgency.

What next? The Congress Party has said that they will move the Supreme Court against the High Court order dismissing Gandhi's plea.