Surat Court rejects Rahul Gandhi's appeal to stay conviction: What lies ahead for the Congress leader?

A court in Gujarat's Surat city on Thursday dismissed Rahul Gandhi's application in which the Congress leader had sought a stay on his conviction in the 2019 criminal defamation case on the 'Modi surname' remark.

What's next for Rahul Gandhi?

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had approached the Surat Sessions Court on April 3 for appeal after a lower court sentenced him to two years in jail while convicting him for criminal defamation over his remark, "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" made during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019.

A stay on conviction by the Sessions Court could have paved the way for Gandhi's reinstatement as the Member of Parliament.

However, the court of additional sessions judge R P Mogera rejected Gandhi's application.

With this, the former Wayanad MP will now have to appeal in Gujarat High Court or Supreme Court against the Surat Court's order.

Meanwhile, the Congress on Thursday said it will continue to avail all options still available under the law.

"We will continue to avail all options still available to us under the law. Dr A M Singhvi will brief the media on Rahul Gandhi's appeal at 4 pm," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.

"Rahul Gandhi's petition has been rejected in #SuratCourt, We will continue to avail of all options available to us under the law. No matter how hard Narendra Modi and BJP try, they cannot stop @RahulGandhi ji from raising his voice for the country. #RahulGandhi," said Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee President, Jagdish Thakor.

The 52-year-old politician was elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala in 2019, but was disqualified a day after the lower court sentenced him to two years in jail in the case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Purnesh Modi under sections 499 and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.

(With PTI inputs)

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