No relief to Rahul, BJP hails Surat court's decision

Surat sessions court on Thursday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea for a stay on his conviction in the Modi surname defamation case. The Court of Additional Sessions Judge R P Mogera rejected Gandhi's application for relief against a lower court's order sentencing him to two years in jail in the case. Gandhi was disqualified as MP a day after the metropolitan magistrate court sentenced him to two years in jail in a defamation case which was filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi.

Rahul Gandhi had requested that his conviction be paused pending his appeal against a court order sentencing him to two years in jail. The trial court, said the Congress leader, had treated him harshly, overwhelmingly influenced by his status as an MP. The court disagreed. "Rahul Gandhi failed to demonstrate that by not staying the conviction and denying an opportunity to contest the election, an irreversible and irrevocable damage will be caused to him," said trial court judge Robin Mogera.The judge also quoted the Supreme Court as saying that decisions to pause conviction should be exercised with caution and "not in a casual and mechanical manner… that will shake public confidence in the judiciary". "The Appellant was not an ordinary person and was a sitting MP, connected with public life. Any word spoken by the appellant would have a large impact in the mind of the common public," the judge asserted, adding that a "high standard of morality" was expected from a person like him.

Gandhi approached the sessions court on April 3 against the lower court's order. His lawyers also filed two applications, one to hold the sentence and another to pause his conviction until a decision on his appeal. The Congress leader argued that the sentence was excessive and contrary to law, and that if the order was not suspended, it would cause "irreparable damage" to his reputation. He also said he was sentenced in a way that he would be disqualified as a parliamentarian. The judge said he did not agree that Gandhi was deprived of a fair trial. During arguments, BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, opposing Gandhi's request, called him a "repeat offender".

The BJP hailed the Surat court's decision. BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said, "The court's decision is a slap on the arrogance of the Gandhi family, especially Rahul Gandhi." It also proves that law is equal for everyone, he said at a press conference here. A court in Gujarat's Surat city on Thursday rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's application for a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.

People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti alleged the laws and probe agencies are being “abused to favour one party’s supremacy”. In a series of tweets, Mufti said that the Bharatiya Janata Party “hounding the opposition's most prominent face and criminalising any and all forms of criticism reveals their true designs of establishing a BJP rashtra."