‘Modi surname’ defamation case: Gujarat High Court to pronounce verdict on Rahul Gandhi's plea against conviction today

livemint.com:

Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction today, July 7. Earlier in May this year, Gujarat HC reserved its order on Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the 2019 'Modi surname' defamation case. The court refused to grant any interim relief to Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi had moved the Gujarat High Court on April 25 challenging the Surat sessions court order which declined to stay his conviction in the criminal defamation case. The Surat sessions court had on April 20 rejected Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the 2019 criminal defamation case. In his judgement, Additional sessions judge Robin P Mogera had cited Gandhi's stature as an MP and former chief of the country's second-largest political party and said he should have been more careful.

Following his conviction by a lower court in the criminal defamation case, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as Lok Sabha MP. He had been elected to Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala. 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) in a case filed by Purnesh Modi.

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?". Meanwhile, on July 4, Jharkhand High Court directed that no coercive action be taken against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 'Modi surname' defamation case. The next hearing will be on August 16.