Rahul Gandhi Went To Supreme Court For Relive In "Modi Surname" Case

On March 24, 2023, Rahul Gandhi, a member of parliament, was disqualified from his position after a court in Gujarat found him guilty and sentenced him to a two-year prison term.

By Admin Skynews Jul 15, 2023, 17:17 IST

Latest Updates: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has taken his case to the Supreme Court in New Delhi, challenging the Gujarat High Court's decision to not halt his conviction in a criminal defamation case. This conviction led to his disqualification as a Member of Parliament earlier this year. The disqualification occurred on March 24, 2023, after a Gujarat court found him guilty of criminal defamation and sentenced him to a two-year prison term. The case stems from a remark Mr. Gandhi made during an election rally in Karnataka on April 13, 2019, where he questioned the prevalence of the surname "Modi" among alleged thieves.

If the Supreme Court grants a stay on his conviction, it could potentially pave the way for Mr. Gandhi's reinstatement as a Lok Sabha MP. However, so far, he has not received any relief from either the sessions court or the Gujarat High Court.

The complaint against Mr. Gandhi was filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, who has requested to be heard if the Congress leader challenges the high court's verdict.

The high court, in its dismissal of Mr. Gandhi's appeal, emphasized the importance of integrity in politics, stating that representatives of the people should have clean backgrounds. The court further noted that staying a conviction is not the norm but an exception, only granted in rare cases when there are reasonable grounds to do so. In Mr. Gandhi's case, the court found no such grounds.

Rahul Gandhi, aged 53, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala in 2019, has requested a stay on his conviction based on unfounded grounds, according to the court. The court further noted that denying the stay would not result in any injustice to Mr. Gandhi. He 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 found him guilty of criminal defamation under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Currently, there are 10 pending cases against Rahul Gandhi. Additionally, a complaint has been filed against him in a Pune court by the grandson of Veer Savarkar, following remarks made by Gandhi against Veer Savarkar during his time at Cambridge University.