Rahul Gandhi's plea for stay on conviction in 'Modi surname' case dismissed

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea for a stay on his conviction in the 'Modi surname' defamation case has been dismissed by a session court in Surat on Thursday. The court had reserved its verdict for April 20 on Gandhi's application for a plea to stay the conviction on his appeal against a lower court's order that sentenced him to two years in jail. 

Gandhi’s advocate told India Today that they will now move the Gujarat High Court. 

The court stated that Rahul Gandhi has not been able to show any exceptional circumstances to give stay on conviction. It said that certain conditions must be met for the conviction to be stayed. There has to be a rare and exceptional case for the grant of stay, there has to be a special and compelling circumstances in justifying the grant of stay, there has to be irreversible consequences leading to injustice and irretrievable damages if stay is not granted, there should be no criminal antecedents barring the concivtion, and there should be prima facie case on merits. 

If the court had stayed the conviction, Rahul Gandhi could have been reinstated in the Parliament, from where he was disqualified following the conviction. 

The conviction came last month on a 2019 criminal defamation case. BJP MLA Purnesh Modi had dragged Gandhi to the court over a comment he made during an election rally in Kolar, where he said, “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” 

The court that convicted him also allowed him 30 days to appeal to a higher court. 

It is not only a matter of disqualification from the Parliament or a two-year jail term – according to the Section 8 of the Representation of People’s Act, Gandhi will not be able to contest election for 6 more years, after the completion of the 2 year jail term. 

Rahul Gandhi, in his submission, stated that if the trial court conviction is not stayed, it would cause irreparable damage to his reputation. The Surat court said that removal or disqualification as MP cannot be termed as irreversible or irreparable loss or damage. 

Also read: ‘Rahul Gandhi faced irreparable loss and irreversible injury,' says his lawyer in Surat court

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