'Conviction order is proper': Gujarat HC rejects stay on Rahul Gandhi's conviction in defamation case

The Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark.

With this order, Gandhi will continue to remain suspended as a Member of Parliament (MP) and he will not be able to contest elections. He can appeal the larger bench of the Gujarat High Court and Supreme Court.

The court said that the Trial Court conviction order is proper and there is no need to interfere with the said order. "Therefore, the application is dismissed," ANI quoted the court as saying.


The Court further noted that Rahul Gandhi is a serial offender as at least 10 criminal cases are pending against him.

Also Read: Here's why Rahul Gandhi can not contest elections for the next eight years

A stay on conviction would have paved the way for Gandhi's reinstatement as a Member of Parliament (MP). In May, Justice Prachchhak, while hearing Gandhi's plea, had refused to grant any interim relief saying it will pass a final order after the summer vacation, which ended three weeks back.

During a hearing on April 29, Gandhi's lawyer had argued that a maximum punishment of two years for a bailable, non-cognisable offence meant his client could lose his Lok Sabha seat "permanently and irreversibly", which was a "very serious additional irreversible consequence to the person and the constituency he represents".

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

Following the verdict, Gandhi, elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala, was disqualified as 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 on the conviction. While granting him bail, the court, on April 20, refused to stay the conviction, after which he approached the high court.

Surat West MLA 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.

(With inputs from agencies)