The sessions court in Surat on Thursday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking suspension of his conviction in the defamation case making a long-drawn battle for the opposition leader ahead of the election year.
The Surat court had convicted Gandhi on March 23 for his remarks made during an election rally in Kolar in April 2019, where he had said that "all people with the Modi surname are thieves".
The court sentenced him to two years in prison and he was immediately disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha the next day, leading to his vacation of the bungalow.
Rahul Gandhi's lawyers had filed two applications, one for bail till the disposal of his appeal and another for suspension of his conviction until the appeal is decided.
Senior advocate R.S. Cheema, appearing for the Congress leader, argued that only an aggrieved person could file a defamation complaint as per the law, while also pointing out that the speech was not defamatory until it was taken out of context.
The case was filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, who had claimed that Rahul Gandhi's statement had defamed all the people with the Modi surname.
The court had found Rahul Gandhi guilty under IPC Sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation). He had claimed that the trial court treated him harshly because of his status as an MP.
Cheema also questioned the Surat court's jurisdiction, pointing out that the speech was made in Kolar. However, the court rejected Rahul Gandhi's plea, which means that he cannot be reinstated as an MP.
We will continue to avail all options still available to us under the law. @DrAMSinghvi will brief the media on Rahul Gandhi's appeal at 4pm.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 20, 2023
It also imposed the maximum punishment permissible under the law, and Rahul Gandhi's punishment could not have been even a day less to allow him to retain his seat as an MP.
Responding to the rejection of plea, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "We will continue to avail all options still available to us under the law."
Essentially, Rahul Gandhi has refused to apologise for the remarks stating that the remarks were taken out of context and pleaded no guilty, leading to his conviction to stay as before. Now the option for Rahul gandhi is to move the Gujarat high court for stay of conviction.
Since, the year is a pre-poll year to 2024 parliamentary elections, the possibility of dealy in the case may lead up to the general as well as several assembly elections scheduled this year and next year in the country.
