New Delhi: The Supreme Court is set to hear the plea filed by Rahul Gandhi, a leader of the Congress party this Friday. The plea challenges the verdict of the Gujarat High Court, which denied a request to suspend his conviction in a defamation case linked to his “Modi surname” comment. This controversial statement led to him losing his Lok Sabha membership.
During the hearing at the Supreme Court, a bench consisting of Justices BR Gavai and PK Mishra requested responses from Purnesh Modi, a Gujarat minister and the state government regarding Gandhi’s appeal. The court has scheduled hearings for August 4.
Purnesh Modi filed a defamation case against Rahul Gandhi after his remark during an election rally in Kolar, Karnataka on April 13, 2019. Gandhi had questioned, “Why is it that all thieves share ‘Modi’ as their name?”
During the hearing, the bench noted that at this stage they are only considering whether or not to stay the conviction. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Rahul Gandhi, argued that the Congress leader has already endured 111 days of consequences, including missing one session of Parliament and facing exclusion from another session due, to this conviction.
Singhvi emphasized the importance of the issue noting that the declaration of a, by election for the Wayanad constituency, where Rahul Gandhi was elected and subsequently disqualified from the Lok Sabha due, to his conviction and two-year sentence could occur at any time.