Gujarat HC Reserves Order On Rahul Gandhi Plea Seeking Stay On Conviction

The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday reserved orders on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on conviction in 2019 'Modi surname' defamation case. This means Rahul Gandhi has got no interim relief in the Modi surname case, following his conviction in which he was sentenced to two years in jail and lost his Lok Sabha membership.   

Gujarat High Court reserves orders on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking stay on conviction in 2019 'Modi surname' defamation case. Justice Hemant Prachchhak to pronounce the verdict after vacations.

Court refuses to grant any interim relief to Rahul Gandhi until then.… pic.twitter.com/OeFR2NcuZm

— ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2023

A metropolitan magistrate court in Surat on March 23 sentenced the former Congress president to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in a 2019 case filed by the BJP's Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi. The Modi surname case dates back to April 13, 2019, when Rahul Gandhi questioned  'How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?' during an election rally in Kolar, Karnataka. 

After being convicted in the case, he challenged the decision and was granted bail by a Surat Sessions Court on April 3. Rahul Gandhi's conviction and disqualification as an MP led to largescale protests by Congress members across India as they said that democracy was in danger under the BJP. Rahul Gandhi was an MP from Kerala Wayanad and he visited the district after being disqualified from the Parliament on April 12. During a huge roadshow with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, he said, "BJP can take away the (MP) tag, they can put me in jail, take away my house and my posts, but they cannot stop me from representing the people of Wayanad."