New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India Friday August 04, 2023 stayed former Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in “Modi surname defamation” case.
The SC however said the Congress leader’s comments were in bad taste.
Following the SC judgement Rahul Gandhi will now be reinstated as a Member of Parliament.
Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as Member of Parliament following his conviction in “Modi Surname Defamation Case” by a Surat court which also awarded him the maximum punishment.
The former Congress President was also asked to vacate his official bungalow following his disqualification as MP.
Rahul Gandhi had earlier challenged his conviction in the Gujarat High Court. He moved to SC after the High Court rejected his appeal.
"No reason has been given by the trial judge for imposing maximum sentence, the order of conviction needs to be stayed pending final adjudication", the SC bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha, and Sanjay Kumar said. "No doubt that the utterances by the petitioner (Rahul Gandhi) were not in good taste. The petitioner ought to have been more careful in making speeches", the judges said.
"No reason has been given by the trial judge for imposing maximum sentence, the order of conviction needs to be stayed pending final adjudication", the SC bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha, and Sanjay Kumar said.
"No doubt that the utterances by the petitioner (Rahul Gandhi) were not in good taste. The petitioner ought to have been more careful in making speeches", the judges said.
"The ramifications of disqualification not just affect the right of the individual but also the electorate", the SC said.
Rahul Gandhi while maintaining that he was not guilty, on Wednesday requested the top court to stay his two-year conviction, enabling him to participate in the ongoing sittings of the Lok Sabha and sessions thereafter.
At a rally in Karnataka's Kolar in April 2019, Rahul Gandhi, in a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?".
In an affidavit before the top court, the former Wayanad MP said that he has always maintained that he is not guilty of the offence and that the "conviction is unsustainable" and if he had to apologise and compound the offence, "he would have done it much earlier".
The Congress meanwhile welcomed the Supreme Court order, saying it had "re-established the faith of the common people in the Supreme Court, in democracy, constitutionalism and in the principle that truth shall prevail".
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that he had met the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and asked him to immediately restore Rahul Gandhi's status as an MP, so he could take part in the no-confidence motion proceedings on August 8 and 10.
"We have met the Lok Sabha Speaker and asked him that Rahul Gandhi's membership must be restored so that he can take part in no-confidence motion proceedings," the Congress leader said.
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