Rahul Gandhi's appeal for conviction stay rejected, Cong to avail other options
The Surat sessions court on Thursday rejected Rahul Gandhi's appeal seeking a stay and suspension of the lower court order which convicted him in the 2019 defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail. The sessions court heard both sides on 13 April and reserved the verdict for 20 April. If the court today stayed or suspended Rahul Gandhi's conviction, the Indian Congress leader could have been reinstated in Parliament.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party will continue to avail all options still available under the law.
Following Rahul Gandhi's conviction for his statement 'why all thieves have Modi surname in common', Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha.
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In his appeal, Rahul Gandhi told the sessions court that there was no need for the maximum punishment, The trial was not fair, his lawyer told the court. The judgement by the magistrate was "strange" because the trial court judge "made a hotchpotch of all the evidence on record", Rahul Gandhi's lawyer told the court.
Opposing his plea, complainant Purnesh Modi said Rahul Gandhi is a repeat offender and he refused to apologise for the comment.
'Satyameva Jayate': BJP reacts
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla called the rejection by the sessions court 'satyameva jayate' and asked whether the Congress will now raise questions on courts again. "Will they finally junk their arrogance and apologise to the OBC community rather than question the judiciary," the BJP spokesperson said.
BJP's Amit Malviya said, "Despite having insulted the OBC community, calling them all 'chor', Rahul, shamefully remains defiant… His arrogant attitude reeks of entitlement."
