Modi remark defamation case: Here's why Rahul Gandhi can not contest elections for the next eight years

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the 'Modi surname' defamation case. The bench of Justice Hemant M Prachchhak called the trial court's conviction proper and said, «There is no need to interfere with the said order. Therefore, the application is dismissed.» The court noted that Rahul Gandhi has at least 10 criminal cases pending against him and even after the present case, some more cases have been filed against the leader.

One such case has been filed by the grandson of Veer Savarkar, said the court while announcing the order. On the back of this judgment, Gandhi has also been barred from running for election for six years after the end of the two-year jail term. Rahul Gandhi currently stands disqualified from the Parliament due to the judgment.

However, the case goes back to 2019. Here's what the case is all about: In 2019, Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a Lok Sabha-campaign rally in Karnataka's Kolar. The leader had said, «How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?» On this ground, BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi filed a criminal defamation case against the Congress leader claiming that his remark defamed the entire Modi community.

Meanwhile, Gandhi clarified that he did not have any malicious intent to defame any community when he made the statement in question. The issue then reached the session's court based on a standard procedure followed in all criminal defamation cases. The lower court sentenced the Congress leader to two years in jail on March 23 under sections 499 and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).