SC Breather For Rahul Gandhi; Conviction In ‘Modi-Thieves’ Defamation Case Stayed, MP Status Restored

New Delhi: In a huge relief for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed his conviction in the 2019 criminal defamation case over his “why all thieves have Modi surname” remark, restoring his status as a member of Parliament.

“Considering the wide ramifications of the Section 8(3) affecting not only the right of the petitioner but also the rights of the electorate, which elected him in the constituency, and also the fact that no reason has been assigned by the trial court to award the maximum sentence, the order of conviction needs to be stayed pending final adjudication,” a three-judge bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Sanjay Kumar said.

“Particularly when the offence was non-compoundable, bailable and cognizable, the least which was expected from the learned trial judge was to give reasons for imposing the maximum punishment. Though the learned appellate court and the High Court have spent voluminous pages in rejecting the applications, these aspects are not seen considered,” the court said while also observing that the utterances were not in good taste and that a person in public life is expected to exercise caution while making public speeches.

The SC bench, however, refrained from making any observations on the merits of the matter, considering the pendency of the appeal.

A Surat court had, on March 23, convicted Rahul Gandhi, who represented the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, and sentenced him for two years. A day later, he was disqualified as Lok Sabha MP. The Congress leader then challenged that order in a sessions court along with a request to pause his conviction. While the sessions court granted him bail on April 20, it refused to stay the conviction.

Rahul Gandhi filed a criminal revision application but the bench of Justice Hemant Prachchhak of Gujarat High Court not only refused to grant him interim relief, but also dismissed his petition.

Rahul Gandhi then moved the top court. challenging the decision of the HC to decline his plea for a stay on his conviction. He has all along maintained that he had no ‘mala fide intention’ nor any intent to defame the complainant, Purnesh Modi, a former minister in the Gujarat government, who had filed the criminal defamation case in 2019.