Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on April 25 moved the Gujarat High Court seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case after the Surat Sessions Court rejected his plea.
“We have filed an appeal challenging the Surat district court’s order,” said advocate Pankaj Champaneri, who will appear for Mr. Gandhi.
Editorial | Defamation perils: on the Rahul Gandhi case
Earlier, the Surat Sessions Court had rejected Mr. Gandhi’s plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the criminal defamation case filed by BJP legislator Purnesh Modi against the Congress leader.
In his plea before the Surat court, Mr. Gandhi had sought a stay on his conviction contending that the Magistrate’s court had treated him harshly.
On March 23, a magisterial court in Surat had sentenced Mr. Gandhi to two years in jail for his 2019 remark “How come all the thieves have Modi as their surname?”
On April 20, Additional Sessions judge Robin Mogera, in his 27-page order, rejected the argument that Mr. 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 Mr. Purnesh Modi is a former Minister of Gujarat and involved in public life and, thus, the defamatory remarks made by Mr. Gandhi would have certainly harmed his reputation and caused him pain and agony.
