Rahul Gandhi has filed an appeal with the Surat Sessions Court, contesting his conviction and sentencing in a defamation case over his 'Modi Surname' comment. The Congress leader has asserted that his statement was aimed solely at Narendra Modi, Nirav Modi, and Lalit Modi, and not intended to harm the reputation of the entire Modi community.
Rahul Gandhi's legal team, comprising Senior Advocate R. S. Cheema, Advocate Kirit Panwala, and Advocate Tarannum Cheema, filed the appeal, contending that his statement did not single out any particular group of Modis for defamation. They maintained that his remark, which referenced Narendra Modi, Nirav Modi, and Lalit Modi, did not harm the reputation of the broader Modi community.
According to Rahul Gandhi's plea, "Modis" refer to a vast group of 13 crore people and, therefore, not a specific, identifiable, or well-defined group. The plea argues that as per the judgments, not every member of the "Modi" group can file a complaint, even if the complainant is named Modi. The plea contends that the term "Modi" cannot be considered a small, well-defined, determinate body that is distinct from other Modis.
In his appeal, Rahul Gandhi has further contended that the complainant, BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, was not the aggrieved person in the case. He argued that if at all, a complaint could only be filed by Narendra Modi himself, as he was the person specifically referred to in Gandhi's 2019 speech. The plea states that only Narendra Modi could be considered the aggrieved person in relation to the alleged defamatory imputations against him, and that Purnesh Modi had no right to file a complaint on his behalf. According to the appeal, the complaint filed by Purnesh Modi is not legally sustainable.
The plea filed by Rahul Gandhi states that BJP MLA Purnesh Modi cannot be considered the aggrieved person under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) simply because he was offended by Gandhi's statements. The Congress leader, who is presently a disqualified MP, filed the appeal in the Surat Sessions Court, 10 days after being sentenced to two years' imprisonment by a lower court. The conviction came on the basis of a complaint filed by Purnesh Modi, a former Gujarat minister and BJP MLA, under Sections 499 and 500 of the IPC. The complaint alleged that Rahul Gandhi defamed all individuals with the surname 'Modi' in a speech delivered at a rally in Kolar, Karnataka, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
According to the appeal filed by Rahul Gandhi, the Magistrate Court treated him unfairly both in terms of the merits of the case and the determination of his sentence, taking into account his position as a Member of Parliament. The Congress leader contends that as an opposition parliamentarian, he is expected to be critical of the government and cannot always be expected to weigh his words carefully. He argues that the court should have focused on the essence and spirit of his speech, rather than just the tone and tenor, as his comments were made in the context of political opposition. The plea further states that the lower court failed to appreciate this principle both during the evaluation of the evidence and the sentencing.
TAGS: Rahul Gandhi Surat Sessions Court appeal defamation case Modi Surname remark Narendra Modi Purnesh Modi BJP MLA Section 499 IPC Indian Penal Code sentencing Member of Parliament opposition politician.
