He must make his statements within limits: Gujarat HC in Rahul Gandhi defamation case

The Gujarat High Court on Saturday said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is an elected representative of the people and must, therefore, be cautious while making statements, as reported by Bar and Bench.

Photo Credit: Rahul Gandhi

Justice Hemant Prachchhak of the high court asked senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Rahul Gandhi, to file a reply by 2nd May on plea seeking stay on Surat Sessions Court's decision of convicting Rahul Gandhi in 'Modi surname' defamation case.

The Next hearing is on Tuesday, 2nd May. Both sides will present their final arguments on the day.

The Gujarat High Court began hearing today Rahul Gandhi's appeal challenging the order of the Surat sessions court declining a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case.

Justice Hemant Prachchhak of the high court took up the criminal revision application filed by Gandhi challenging the April 20 order of the sessions court. If the high court allows his plea, it could pave the way for Gandhi's reinstatement as a Member of Parliament.

Earlier on April 26, when Gandhi's lawyer P S Champaneri mentioned the case before Justice Gita Gopi, she recused herself from the hearing by saying "Not before me." The development came a day after Gandhi moved the HC.

A metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat on March 23 sentenced the former Congress president to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in a 2019 case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi.

Following the verdict, Gandhi, elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala in 2019, was disqualified as a Member of Parliament (MP) under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act. Gandhi challenged the order in a sessions court in Surat along with an application seeking a stay to the conviction. While granting him bail, the court on April 20 refused to stay the conviction.

Purnesh Modi filed a criminal defamation case against Gandhi over his How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?' remark made during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019.

A stay to the conviction could pave the way for Gandhi's reinstatement as a Member of Parliament.