Defamation case: Rahul Gandhi to file appeal against conviction in Surat sessions court today
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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is all set to file an appeal today seeking a stay on his conviction, ten days after Gujarat’s Surat court convicted him in a 2019 criminal defamation case and sentenced him to a two-year jail term. Gandhi was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP the next day.
The court while delivering the verdict, suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal and approved bail on a surety of Rs 15,000.
Following disqualification, Gandhi would not be able to contest elections for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction and sentence. Later, the House Committee of the Lok Sabha chaired by BJP MP C R Patil issued him a notice to vacate the 12, Tughlaq Lane bungalow.
Gandhi’s lawyer will move the sessions court in Surat. The appeal, “supervised, controlled and advised” by Rajya Sabha MP and senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi and to be filed by senior lawyer R S Cheema, will seek a stay on the conviction.
The party is hopeful that the court will take up the matter on Monday and also stay his conviction, which will open the doors for the revocation of his disqualification.
According to the sources, Gandhi will be present in the sessions court on Monday along with several senior leaders, including AICC General Secretary in charge of organisation K C Venugopal, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Digvijaya Singh and Anand Sharma to file the plea challenging a metropolitan court's order.
"Rahul Gandhi will reach the sessions court in Surat to file an appeal at around 3 pm," his lawyer Kirit Panwala said.
On March 23, the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma convicted Gandhi in the defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail over his remark about Modi surname in 2019. During a poll rally in Karnataka's Kolar district, Gandhi who served as an MP from Wayanad, Kerala, had remarked, “Why do all thieves have the name Modi?”
It had held 52-year-old Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500.
Gandhi's conviction and subsequent disqualification as an MP triggered a political firestorm between the ruling BJP and the Opposition parties with the Congress branded PM Narendra Modi a "dictator". The opposition has been strongly protesting the move targeting Gandhi with the Parliament witnessing stormy scenes.
