'10 such cases against you, punishment is not injustice', Rahul did not get relief in defamation case

Rahul Gandhi Case: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has not got relief from the Gujarat High Court in the Modi surname case. The court has rejected the review petition filed against Rahul Gandhi's 2-year sentence. That is, the Parliament membership of the Congress leader will not be restored and this punishment will remain intact. On Thursday (July 7), the bench of Justice Hemant Prichhak of the Gujarat High Court has given its verdict in this matter. The court, in its decision, mentioned the running of many other such cases against Rahul Gandhi and with this, justified the decision of the lower court. Saying this, the High Court has upheld the sentence of the lower court.

During the election campaign in the year 2019, Rahul Gandhi gave a controversial statement regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was against this statement of Rahul that Purnesh Modi had filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court, on which a long hearing went on.

A huge crowd of supporters has gathered at the Congress headquarters in Delhi after the Gujarat High Court verdict on Rahul Gandhi. Supporters here are shouting slogans in support of Rahul Gandhi, as well as talking about being with him in the struggle.

What did the High Court say in the decision?

The Gujarat High Court has said in its decision that there are about 10 criminal cases pending against Rahul, apart from this (defamation) case, cases have also been filed against him. The great grandson of Veer Savarkar has also filed such a case. Punishment will not cause any injustice, this punishment is completely correct. There is no need to interfere with the decision of the lower court.

What is the impact of the decision on Rahul?

In this case, Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to 2 years, due to which his membership of Parliament was cancelled. Apart from this, he was also banned from contesting elections for 6 years. Now the High Court has upheld Rahul Gandhi's sentence, which means he will not be able to contest the Lok Sabha elections for a long time.

Rahul Gandhi will have the option to appeal against this decision as well. He can appeal on this decision in front of the larger bench of the High Court, apart from this, he will be able to file an appeal in the Supreme Court as well.

What did the petitioner Purnesh Modi say?

Purnesh Modi, who filed a petition in the court in this case, has given a statement after the verdict. Purnesh Modi says that Rahul Gandhi has insulted the Modi community with his statement, against which I had filed a petition. We accept the decision taken by the court. Purnesh Modi is a BJP MLA from Surat West Assembly seat in Gujarat.

What happened when

April 13, 2019: In Kolar, Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi made a statement attacking PM Modi. Rahul had commented here about the Modi surname.

March 23, 2023: Surat court sentenced Rahul Gandhi to 2 years in this case. He was also granted bail immediately in this case.

March 24, 2023: If an MP is sentenced to 2 or more terms, then his membership of Parliament goes away. Rahul Gandhi's parliament membership was canceled the very next day after his sentence was announced.

7 July 2023: The Gujarat High Court upheld Rahul Gandhi's conviction.

What did the opposition parties say on the decision?

Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) has commented on this decision of Gujarat High Court. Sanjay Raut says that the country does not agree with this decision, how the membership is terminated in such a case. There are so many big criminals sitting here, they should be sent to jail. Rahul Gandhi's membership is withdrawn on a statement, while people who have done big scams are being made ministers.

2019 is the case

The court refused to grant interim relief while hearing Rahul Gandhi's petition in May. The justice had said that he would pass the final order after the summer vacation. Rahul Gandhi's lawyer argued in the Gujarat High Court during a hearing on April 29 that a maximum sentence of two years for a bailable and non-cognizable offense meant his client could lose his Lok Sabha seat.

On March 23, Surat's Metropolitan Magistrate court convicted Rahul Gandhi under sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) of the IPC in a 2019 case filed by Gujarat BJP MLA Purnesh Modi. The court sentenced Rahul to 2 years. After this decision of the court, under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, Rahul Gandhi lost his membership of Parliament. Rahul won the election from Wayanad in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.