Indian court rejects Rahul Gandhi’s plea to suspend defamation conviction

NEW DELHI – A high court in western India rejected an appeal by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday to suspend his conviction in a defamation case, quashing for now his hopes of returning to Parliament and contesting national elections due in 2024.

Mr Abhishek Singhvi, Gandhi’s lawyer and spokesperson for his Congress party, called the judgment “legally wrong” and said he would soon appeal against it in the Supreme Court, the last option.

Gandhi was convicted in March in a case brought by a Gujarat state lawmaker from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mr Purnesh Modi, after comments Gandhi made in 2019 were considered to be insulting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other people surnamed Modi.

“How come all thieves have the name Modi?” Gandhi had asked in an election campaign speech, referring to two fugitive businessmen, both surnamed Modi.

Gandhi, 53, the scion of a dynasty that has given India three prime ministers, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, but the jail term was put on hold and he was given bail.

He also lost his parliamentary seat following the conviction, as lawmakers sentenced to jail terms of two years or more are automatically disqualified.

They are also barred from running for election for six years after the end of their jail terms.

Gandhi has separately challenged the conviction in a district court, which is yet to hear the case.

Justice Hemant Prachchhak of the Gujarat High Court said in his order on Friday that a stay of conviction is not a rule but an exemption to be resorted to in rare cases.

“The refusal of stay of conviction would not in any way result in injustice to the applicant,” the judge said, adding that there were no reasonable grounds “to stay the conviction of the applicant in view of the facts and circumstances of the case”.

There was no immediate response from Gandhi to the verdict.

His lawyer Mr Singhvi said Friday’s judgment did not address the main issues he raised to question the conviction. 

“We have full faith in the judiciary, and in particular in the apex court where we are now proceeding,” he told reporters. 

During the hearing, Mr Singhvi had argued that the crime for which Gandhi had been convicted is not “serious”, and not being allowed to contest elections for eight years is “virtually semi-permanent in politics”.

Gandhi is only the second lawmaker in India to be disqualified from Parliament after being convicted. The other case was in January, but the lawmaker was subsequently reinstated.

Gandhi’s disqualification pushed India’s main opposition parties to sink their differences and join hands to plan a united challenge to BJP in the 2024 national elections.

Mr Purnesh Modi, the BJP lawmaker who filed the case against Gandhi, said he welcomed the judgment.

“Rahul Gandhi should think about this... and display some goodwill,” he said. REUTERS