Rahul Gandhi fails to win HC relief in Modi surname case

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court did not grant interim suspension on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi conviction in a criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname" remark in which he was sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court.

“There is no interim protection. The matter will be decided once the court reopens after vacation," said Justice Hemant Prachchhak. Friday is the last working day for the Gujarat high court and is slated to reopen on 5 June.

Gandhi’s counsel requested the judge to pass an interim order but the same was declined.

Gandhi’s conviction by a Surat court led to his disqualification as a Member of Parliament and a stay on conviction could pave the way for Gandhi’s reinstatement as a Lok Sabha member.

The law states that if a member is convicted of any offence for two or more years of imprisonment, he will be disqualified as a Member of Parliament.

The arguments were reserved after hearing senior advocate Nirupam Nanavaty who represented the complainant Purnesh Modi, a BJP MLA from Gujarat and senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi who represented Gandhi.

The court of Justice Prachchhak had allowed the complainant to submit additional documents opposing Gandhi’s criminal revision application against the Surat sessions court order rejecting his plea to stay his conviction and kept the matter for hearing on 2 May.

According to Nanavaty, the disqualification of Gandhi was not a result of any action taken by the Court or the complainant, but rather, it was a consequence of a law passed by Parliament. Therefore, Gandhi cannot argue that he is facing an irreversible loss.

During the court proceedings, Nanavaty argued that Gandhi did not express any regret for his comments made in 2019 at a public rally in