Rahul Gandhi got some relief on Friday when the Supreme Court of India stayed the conviction order by the Gujarat High Court in the Modi Surname Remark Case. While the apex court stayed the conviction order on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, it did not adjudicate the conviction yet.
The lawyer for the complainant Purnesh Modi, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, on Friday told news agency ANI that ‘though the Court stayed the conviction today, in the eyes of law he (Rahul Gandhi) is still a convict.’
A three-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, P S Narasimha and Sanjay Kumar, while granting Gandhi the relief, said no reason was given by the trial court judge while convicting him (Rahul Gandhi) except that he was admonished by the apex court in a contempt case.
“...Today the Court stayed the conviction. The Court said that insufficient reasons were given for the 2-year punishment that was earlier pronounced. It said that sufficient reasons should have been given for maximum punishment...” Jethamalani attested to the Supreme Court order.
Flagging the fact that Rahul Gandhi has not yet been acquitted of the allegation by Purnesh Modi in the Modi Surname remark case, Jethmalani said, "Stay' means that the consequences of conviction - like disqualification - will be stayed because, like I said, the reasons were not sufficient. But now, there will be appeal in sessions court. Ruling of the magistrates' court is correct for both sentencing and conviction but due to the 'stay', he can return to the Parliament."
After the Supreme Court's order, the Lok Sabha speaker can now revive Rahul Gandhi's membership on his own or Rahul Gandhi, armed with the apex court order, can seek restoration of his status as an MP.
The apex court on Friday had said that said the least the trial court judge was expected to do was give some reasons for imposing the maximum sentence provided under the defamation act that led to Rahul Gandhi being awarded a term of two years in jail, having attracted the provisions of the electoral law that envisages automatic disqualification of an MLA or MP sentenced to two years in jail.
The apex court said Gandhi's conviction and subsequent disqualification not only affected his right to continue in public life but also that of the electorate who elected him to represent their constituency.
Purnesh Modi had filed the criminal defamation case in 2019 against Gandhi over his "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" comment made at an election rally in Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019.
The Congress leader was disqualified as a Member of Parliament on 24 March after a Gujarat court convicted him and sentenced him to two-year imprisonment for criminal defamation for comments he made about the Modi surname.
The high court had dismissed his petition for a stay on conviction, observing that "purity in politics" is the need of the hour.
A metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat had on March 23 sentenced the former Congress president to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation).
Following the verdict, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as an MP under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.
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