Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has approached the Gujarat High Court seeking a stay on his conviction in a defamation case over his "Modi-Thieves" remark made during a political campaign in Karol in April 2019. Gandhi's criminal revision petition challenges the Surat Sessions Court's April 20th order dismissing his application for a stay on his conviction. The Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate had sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail on March 23, leading to his disqualification as an MP of Lok Sabha. However, his sentence was suspended, and he was granted bail to file an appeal against his conviction within 30 days. While he was granted bail on April 3, his application for a stay on his conviction was rejected on April 20. The matter will now come up for hearing before a single judge in due course.
The Gujarat High Court has noted that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, being a Member of Parliament and President of the second-largest political party, should have been more careful with his words. This observation was made in the context of Gandhi's conviction in a defamation case filed by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. The case pertains to Gandhi's alleged remarks during a rally in Kolar, Karnataka, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, where he had said that all people with the 'Modi' surname were thieves. The video of his speech was recorded by the video surveillance team and notified by the office of Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer, Kolar District.
Earlier this year, the Gujarat High Court vacated the stay on trial in the criminal defamation case. Gandhi had remained present in court when the verdict was pronounced, and he has maintained that there was no malafide intention on his part when he made the statement in question. This is not the first time Gandhi has appeared before the court in connection with the case, having done so on three earlier occasions.
TAGS: Rahul Gandhi Gujarat High Court conviction defamation case Modi-Thieves remark BJP MLA Purnesh Modi Lok Sabha Kolar Karnataka Indian Penal Code trial malafide intention.
