Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has challenged in the Supreme Court the decision of the Gujarat High Court against the sentence of two years in the defamation case related to the Modi surname.
Rahul Gandhi’s petition will be heard in the Supreme Court on Friday (July 21).
In the Supreme Court, a bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra will hear the petition.
In the defamation case, on March 23, 2023, the sessions court of Surat sentenced Rahul Gandhi to 2 years. After this decision, Rahul’s MP had gone. Rahul was convicted under sections 499 and 500 of the IPC. There is a provision of punishment of 2 years in this.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, who had filed a defamation complaint against Rahul Gandhi, has also filed a caveat in the Supreme Court.
He has appealed to the court to hear Rahul Gandhi’s side as well as his side in the Modi surname case.
The Gujarat High Court had given its verdict in this matter on July 7 and upheld Rahul Gandhi’s 2-year sentence. On behalf of Rahul Gandhi, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appealed for an urgent hearing in the Supreme Court.
Justice Hemant Prachhak of the Gujarat High Court while giving the verdict had said, ‘There are at least 10 criminal cases pending against Rahul Gandhi. Apart from this case, some other cases have been filed against him. One has been filed by the grandson of Veer Savarkar. In any case, not stopping the punishment is not injustice. The punishment in this case is just and proper.
The High Court had further said, ‘Rahul Gandhi is seeking a stay on the sentence on such a basis, which has no existence. There is no need to interfere in the decision of the Surat court. The petition is dismissed.
In fact, before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, during a rally in Kolar, Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi made a statement regarding the Modi surname.
He had said, “Thieves have Modi as their surname. Why do all thieves have Modi as their surname, be it Lalit Modi or Nirav Modi or Narendra Modi.”
Regarding this statement, BJP MLA Purnesh Modi had filed a defamation case in the Surat court. During the hearing of this case, Rahul Gandhi appeared in the court three times. During the last appearance of October 2021, he declared himself innocent.
In fact, in July 2013, the Supreme Court had said that the membership of people’s representatives (MLAs-MPs) who have been sentenced to 2 years or more in the courts will be cancelled. Any MP or MLA will be disqualified for membership of Parliament or Legislative Assembly from the date of conviction in the lower court.
Under this decision, Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership went away from the day of his conviction. Rahul Gandhi was an MP from Wayanad in Kerala.
