Rahul Gandhi likely to move Surat court tomorrow against jail sentence
Indian Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP after being sentenced to two years in prison over a 2019 defamation case recently, is likely to challenge his conviction and sentencing in a sessions court in Gujarat's Surat on Monday, sources said.
In his petition, Gandhi is expected to ask the sessions court to set aside the magistrate order convicting him in the 'Modi surname' case.
The court granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court. A complaint was filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi for his alleged remark, "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?"
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The court of chief judicial magistrate HH Varma held 52-year-old Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500.
The Bharatiya Janata has alleged that Rahul Gandhi's legal team did not show enough promptness to challenge the court order as the party was aiming to capitalise on this ahead of the Karnataka election. Questions were raised that there was immediate action when Congress leader Pawan Khera was arrested but not after Rahul Gandhi's conviction. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had earlier said the legal team was working on it.
Gandhi faces the risk of not being able to contest the next general election due in 2024 if his conviction is not suspended or overturned, or the sentence is not reduced by a higher court. The law also mandates that a convicted lawmaker cannot contest elections for six years after the end of their jail term.
Gandhi represented the Wayanad constituency in Kerala. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the party was confident the conviction would be suspended.
Union home minister Amit Shah was shown black flags by Congress workers during his visit to Mizoram's capital Aizawl to inaugurate development projects on Saturday.
The opposition party was protesting against the disqualification of Gandhi recently. Leaders of the state congress and functionaries of various frontal organisations held a peaceful demonstration to extend solidarity with Gandhi.
