Congress to move lower court to stay Rahul conviction as party finalises legal strategy

After Rahul Gandhi's conviction in a criminal defamation case by a lower court in Gujarat’s Surat on March 23 following a complaint lodged by BJP leader Purnesh Modi for "how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname” remark, the Congress party has chalked out an appealing strategy to get a stay on former Wayanad MP's conviction order. According to sources, the party's legal counsel will approach Surat's lower court instead of moving the Gujarat High Court.

Rahul Gandhi himself will appear before the Surat lower court on April 5 to file an appeal in the case. As per Congress' strategy, if the lower court doesn't grant a stay order on Rahul Gandhi's conviction, the party's legal counsel, which reportedly includes Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, will seek an extension of his bail, which is currently of 30 days. The Congress leader was granted bail and his sentence was suspended for 30 days to let him appeal the decision of conviction. 

According to reports, Rahul Gandhi has been charged under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which says, “Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.”

After getting convicted, Rahul was disqualified from the Lok Sabha under the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. He has subsequently been also given notice to vacate his government bungalow in Lutyens Delhi he's been occupying since 2004.

Rahul's ‘Satyameva Jayate’ campaign in Kolar

After submitting his appeal in Surat's lower court, the Congress leader will fly to Karnataka's Kolar to hold the ‘Satyameva Jayate’ campaign on April 5 against the BJP’s alleged misuse of power, sources claimed. Notably, Kolar is the same place where he made the "how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname” remark on March 13, 2019, during a campaign for general elections.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief DK Shivakumar, while addressing a press meeting with former Union minister Anand Sharma, said, “Rahul will lead a nationwide campaign with Mahatma Gandhi’s saying ‘Satyameva Jayate’ (Truth will Triumph) from Kolar, where he had made the earlier statement."

Notably, the state is also preparing to under single-phase assembly polls on May 10, with the counting of votes and results on May 13.