Defamation case: Rahul Gandhi files appeal in Gujarat HC against Surat sessions court order

Ahmedabad: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday filed an appeal in the Gujarat High Court challenging the order of the Surat sessions court which had declined to stay his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark, a lawyer said.

Congress advocate BM Mangukia confirmed Gandhi (52) has filed an appeal in the HC here against the last week’s order of the sessions court.

A metropolitan magistrate’s court in Surat on March 23 sentenced the former Congress president to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code sections 499 and 500 (dealing with criminal defamation) in the 2019 case filed by Gujarat BJP MLA Purnesh Modi.

Gandhi’s remark ‘how come all the thieves have Modi as their surname?’ during a rally in Karnataka’s Kolar sparked a huge row.

Following the verdict, Gandhi, elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala in 2019, was disqualified as a Member of Parliament under provisions of the Representation of the People Act.

On April 20, Additional Sessions judge Robin Mogera, in his 27-page order, rejected the argument that Purnesh Modi’s complaint was not maintainable.

“Rahul Gandhi failed to demonstrate that by not staying the conviction and denying an opportunity to contest the election, an irreversible and irrevocable damage will be caused to him,” the court noted in the order.

In his verdict, the judge held that the complainant Purnesh Modi is a former Minister of Gujarat and involved in public life and, thus, the defamatory remarks made by Gandhi would have certainly harmed his reputation and caused him pain and agony.

With inputs from PTI