SC notice to Gujarat government on Rahul Gandhi's appeal against HC order

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Gujarat government and a BJP MLA, seeking their response to an appeal filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenging the Gujarat High Court's refusal to stay his conviction in a defamation case. Gandhi was sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court in March, on a petition filed by MLA Purnesh Ishwarbhai Modi who claimed that a 2019 comment by the Congress leader on the Modi surname had defamed the entire Modi community.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra, which issued the notices, will take up the matter next on August 4. At the outset, describing it as a «difficulty», Justice Gavai offered to recuse from presiding over the matter, stating that his father was closely associated with the Congress and that his brother was still in politics and was in the Congress.

Counsels for both sides recorded their no objection when Justice Gavai asked them to take a call whether they would want him to hear the appeal. Appearing on behalf of Gandhi, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi submitted that he had «suffered for 111 days» since the Surat court order and had «lost one Parliament session».

Singhvi added that the byelection to the Wayanad constituency, which was held by Gandhi, could be announced anytime. Speaking for the bench, Justice Gavai verbally remarked that the «limited question» was whether the two-year sentence (conviction) awarded needed to be suspended or not.

The bench indicated that awarding an interim stay without hearing the complainant (who had filed a caveat in the case) might not be proper. Significantly, the bench quipped at the unusually lengthy order, running into almost 150 pages, passed by the Gujarat HC refusing to stay the