SC to hear on July 21 Rahul Gandhi’s plea against Gujarat HC

Gandhinagar, Jul 18: Supreme Court on Tuesday (Jul 18) fixed Jul 21 for hearing the plea of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenging the Gujarat High Court order which declined to stay his conviction in the criminal defamation case in which he was sentenced to two years in jail by Surat court over 'Modi surname' remark.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India agreed to hear Rahul Gandhi's plea on Friday (Jul 21) after senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for him mentioned the matter for urgent listing. "Supreme Court agrees to hear on July 21, the plea of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenging the Gujarat High Court order which declined to stay his conviction in the criminal defamation case in which he was sentenced to two years in jail by Surat court over 'Modi surname' remark", said Advocate Harshit Tolia, appearing for BJP complainant Purnesh Modi.

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After his conviction in the case, Rahul Gandhiwas declared disqualified as MP from Kerala’s Wayanad on Mar 24 following a notification of the Lok Sabha Secretariat. Gandhi was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment which disqualified him as an MP under the rigours of the Representation of People Act. Approaching the top court, Rahul Gandhi also sought a stay of the Gujarat High Court verdict which upheld his conviction. He said the High Court verdict “has no parallel or precedent in the jurisprudence of the law of defamation”.

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He contended that it was “not only curious but extremely significant, indeed sinister, that all earlier cases, including the one regarding the present speech, were filed by members and office bearers of the ruling party”. It was submitted that the surname ‘Modi’, in different parts of the country, encompassed different communities and sub-communities, which usually have no commonality or uniformity at all. The Modi surname belonged to various castes. The complainant, who simply has a ‘Modi’ surname, did not prove that he was prejudiced or damaged in any specific or personal sense, the plea filed in apex court added.