The Supreme Court has stayed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark, restoring his status as a member of Parliament.
Pronouncing the verdict, Justice BR Gavai said, the ramifications of Gandhi’s conviction are wide, since it will also affect the right of the electorates who elected him. A former minister in the Gujarat government Purnesh Modi had filed a criminal defamation case in 2019 against Mr Gandhi over his remark made during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka in April 2019.
In an affidavit filed before the top court, Rahul Gandhi once again refused to apologise for his Modi surname remark that led to his conviction in the defamation case and subsequent disqualification from the Parliament but urged the Supreme Court to stay his conviction asserting he is not guilty.