New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Gujarat government and the complainant on an appeal of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenging the Gujarat High Court order. The Gujarat HC had earlier in its order declined to stay his conviction in the criminal defamation case in which he was sentenced to two years in jail by the Surat court over the ‘Modi surname’ remark, ANI reported.
“The whole point right now is whether the conviction has to be stayed or not,” remarked a bench of justices BR Gavai and PK Mishra as it sought responses from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Purnesh Modi, who is the complainant in the case, and the Gujarat government.
During the brief hearing, the court expressed surprise over the high court’s lengthy judgment on the point of staying the conviction. “We don’t understand a lengthy reply in a matter like this. The Gujarat high court penned down over 100-page judgment. It’s peculiar of the high court to write such a lengthy judgment,” observed the bench.
Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for Gandhi. Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani appeared for the complainant.
During the hearing, Singhvi made out a case for an early hearing, pointing out Gandhi has suffered 111 days as MP and missed two parliamentary sessions, including the ongoing Monsoon Session. Accepting his request, the bench agreed to hear the case on August 4. The appeal was filed by Gandhi on July 15, exactly a week after the high court dealt a blow to his endeavour to revive his Lok Sabha membership, ruling that the Congress leader “breached modesty” and that his offence involved “moral turpitude”.
