New Delhi: The Gujarat high court on Friday (July 7) refused to stay the conviction of and two-year sentence given to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case. The sentence – the maximum possible for defamation – resulted in Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha. Justice Hemant Prachchhak said that no injustice would be caused to Gandhi if the conviction is not stayed. “At least 10 criminal cases pending against him. Even after the present case, some more cases filed against him. One such is filed by grandson of Veer Savarkar. In anyway, conviction would not result in any injustice. The conviction is just and proper. There is no need to interfere with the said order. Therefore, the application is dismissed,” the court said,
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh tweeted that the party is studying the judge’s reasoning, and lawyer and party leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi will speak to the media at 3 pm. “The judgement only redoubles our resolve to pursue the matter further,” he added.
A stay on conviction would have paved the way for Gandhi’s reinstatement as a member of parliament.
On March 23, a Surat court had convicted Gandhi in a criminal defamation case and sentenced him to two years of imprisonment.
Following the verdict, Gandhi, elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala, was disqualified as MP under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.
The disqualification order was issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat on March 24. The disqualification, however, came into effect from March 23, the day the Surat court had pronounced him guilty.
On April 3, Gandhi moved a sessions court seeking a stay on his conviction, which was rejected on April 20. However, he was granted bail on April 3 till the disposal of his appeal.
The case is based on a complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Purnesh Modi, based on a speech Gandhi had given in Kolar in 2019 in which he said, “I have a question. Why do all these thieves have Modi in their names whether it is Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi? We don’t know how many more such Modis will come out.”
The complainant held that Gandhi had defamed all people whose surname is Modi. He reportedly “welcomed” Friday’s Gujarat high court order.
Gandhi is also facing similar charges in another state. Earlier this week, the Jharkhand high court exempted Gandhi from in-person appearances before a Ranchi court where he is facing defamation charges for the same remarks.
Speaking at Stanford University in May, Gandhi had said he had not thought it possible that he would be the first person ever to receive the maximum possible sentence for defamation.
“To be the first person to be given the first maximum sentence on defamation and maximum sentence to get disqualified. I didn’t imagine that something like this was possible,” he said. “But then I think it’s actually given me a huge opportunity, a much bigger opportunity [than] I would have [had] in Parliament. That is the way politics works.”