Rahul Gandhi moves Gujarat HC seeking stay on conviction in ‘Modi surname’ case

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday moved the Gujarat high court against a lower court order rejecting stay.

On his conviction in the defamation case surrounding ‘Modi surname’ row, a Gujarat Congress official said.

On April 21, a Surat court had rejected his plea, dealing a blow to his hopes of a quick reinstatement as the Lok Sabha member of parliament from Wayanad. The judge had cited Gandhi’s stature as an MP and said he should have been more careful in his comments.

The additional sessions judge Robin Mogera had cited prima facie evidence and observations of the trial court, saying that it appeared Rahul Gandhi had made certain derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi apart from comparing the people with the same surname with thieves.

On March 23, Rahul Gandhi was convicted for criminal defamation and sentenced to two years in prison over his remark made ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha poll. Following the conviction, the Congress leader was disqualified as the member of either house of parliament for a period of eight years.

Gandhi’s disqualification has sparked a major political storm across the country. The Congress leader has been defiant, saying he will not apologise. “This is the whole drama that is been orchestrated to defend the Prime Minister from the simple question- Who’s ₹20,000 crore went to Adani’s shell companies? I am not scared of these threats, disqualifications or prison sentences”, he had said at a presser after his disqualification from Lok Sabha.