SC stay on Rahul Gandhi's conviction in defamation case is victory of justice: Kamal Nath

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath on Friday hailed the Supreme Court ruling staying the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in a 2019 defamation case, calling it the victory of justice. The decision has further enhanced people's faith and respect towards the judiciary, said Nath after the apex court granted relief to Gandhi, paving the way for the revival of his Lok Sabha membership.

"Staying the conviction of Rahul Gandhi ji is not only the victory of justice but also the victory of billions of justice-loving people of the country," Nath said in a tweet in Hindi.

The decision of the court will further enhance the respect and faith of the people towards the judiciary, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said.


"I hope that that the final verdict too will come in favour of Rahul Gandhi which will strengthen the democracy," he said.

Rajya Sabha member and ex-CM Digvijaya Singh also congratulated Gandhi after he got relief from the Supreme Court (SC).

"Congratulations and best wishes to our respected leader Mr. Rahul Gandhi on getting judicial relief from the Supreme Court. May truth always shine!!," Singh said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, jubilant Congress workers celebrated in various parts of the state, including the capital Bhopal.

With the SC relief to Gandhi, the Lok Sabha Speaker can now revive his membership on his own or the Congress leader, armed with the apex court order, seek restoration of his status as an MP.

A three-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, P S Narasimha and Sanjay Kumar on Friday said no reason was given by the trial court judge while convicting Gandhi except that he was admonished by the apex court in a contempt case.

The top court was hearing a plea by Gandhi challenging the Gujarat High Court verdict which dismissed his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the defamation case filed by Purnesh Modi over his "Modi surname" remark.

Gandhi had persistently refused to apologise for his remark but urged the Supreme Court to stay his conviction in the criminal defamation case stemming from his comment, asserting he is not guilty.

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