Rahul Gandhi Moves Supreme Court in Modi Surname Case

New Delhi: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Gujarat High Court’s verdict.

Through this plea in the apex court, the Congress leader challenged decision of the Gujarat High Court not to stay his conviction in the criminal defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark, which led to his disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP.

On March 23, a Surat court sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in a 2019 case filed by Purnesh Modi. This defamation case filed by the BJP MLA was related to Rahul Gandhi’s statement “how come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019.

Following conviction, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament on March 24, 2023.

A stay on Rahul Gandhi’s conviction could pave the way for his reinstatement as a Lok Sabha MP. But the Gujarat High Court refused to give this stay order.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, who had filed the defamation case against Rahul Gandhi, has registered a caveat in the Supreme Court seeking that he be heard if the Congress leader moves a plea challenging the Gujarat High Court verdict refusing to stay his conviction in the Modi surname remark case.