Modi surname case: Rahul to move SC for stay on conviction ‘very soon’
The Congress said on Wednesday (July 12) that former party president Rahul Gandhi may move Supreme Court “very soon” against the Gujarat High Court order rejecting his plea for a stay on his conviction in the “Modi surname” case.
Party sources said the petition may be filed within this week, as work on it is underway. Asked about it at a party briefing, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said: “It will be very soon. It is under preparation,” he said.
Singhvi is also the lawyer appearing for Gandhi in the case.
Watch: Rahul’s disqualification will unite the Opposition: Veteran SC lawyer
Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament on March 24 after a Gujarat court convicted him and sentenced him to two-year imprisonment on charges of criminal defamation for comments he made about the Modi surname.
A stay on Gandhi’s conviction could pave the way for his reinstatement as a Lok Sabha MP. However, he has not received any relief from either the sessions court or the Gujarat High Court.
Purnesh Modi’s caveat
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, the complainant in the defamation case, has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court, seeking that he be heard if the Congress leader moves a plea challenging the high court verdict.
The Congress on Wednesday held “silent” protests in various part of the country to express solidarity with Gandhi.
In a setback to the 53-year-old Congress leader, Justice Hemant Prachchhak of Gujarat High Court dismissed his appeal saying “it is now the need of the hour to have purity in politics”.
The high court also noted that the representatives of the people should be “men of clear antecedent” and that a stay on conviction is not a rule but an exception resorted to only in rare cases and there was no reasonable ground to stay his conviction.
Also read: It’s Rahul Gandhi’s chronic habit to abuse, defame others: BJP
The Congress later said it would move the Supreme Court against the verdict and alleged that the government was finding “newer techniques” to throttle Gandhi’s voice as it was rattled by his speaking the truth.
Purnesh Modi, a former minister in the Gujarat government, had filed the criminal defamation case in 2019 against Gandhi over his “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remark made during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019.
A metropolitan magistrate court in Surat on March 23 sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail after convicting him under IPC sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation).
Following the verdict, Gandhi, elected to the Lok Sabha from Kerala’s Wayanad in 2019, was disqualified as a Member of Parliament under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.
(With agency inputs)
