Rahul to challenge jail sentence in defamation case in Surat Court tomorrow

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will appeal against his disqualification from Parliament and a two-year jail sentence over a 2019 defamation case. It is reported that Rahul will appear in person at the Surat Sessions Court in Gujarat.

Rahul in his plea asked the sessions court to quash the magistrate's order convicting him. The plea also sought an interim stay on the sentence till the case is disposed of.
Rahul made the remarks targeting Modi over his surname while addressing an election rally in 2019 Lok Sabha election at Kolar in Karnataka. Rahul's controversial remark was about how all the thieves got the name Modi. BJP MLA and former minister Purnesh Modi filed a defamation case against this. The complaint said that Rahul's remark was tantamount to insulting everyone named Modi.

The Surat Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Gujarat sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 15,000. The court also granted a 30-day extension to file the appeal. Within twenty-four hours of the Surat court's conviction, the Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a notification disqualifying Rahul. If the sentence is not stayed, Rahul will not be able to contest elections for eight years. He will not be able to contest the 2024 and 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Rahul's disqualification will be waived if the Supreme Court stays the conviction or gives a favorable verdict on appeal.

Even though Rahul MP post has been cancelled, the Central Election Commission has decided not to announce a by-election in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency for the time being. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar explained that the vacancies up to February 2023 were considered and since the trial court had given Rahul Gandhi 30 days to file an appeal, he would wait till then. He said that if a seat is vacated, there is a time of six months for the by-election.