New Delhi: A relieved Rahul Gandhi tweeted Friday afternoon that his duty would continue to be to “protect the idea of India”, hours after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in a criminal defamation case that has effectively overturned his expulsion from Parliament.
“Come what may,” Gandhi tweeted, adding, “my duty remains the same… Protect the idea of India.”
Twenty-six parties from the Opposition have come forward to form INDIA – Indian National Developmental Alliance – to put up a united face against the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the 2024 general elections.
Two meetings have already been held, with the third scheduled in Mumbai on 31 August and 1 September.
At a press conference later in the day, Rahul Gandhi said: “Truth always wins, whether it is today, tomorrow or the day after… My path, my work ahead is clear. I have full clarity on what I need to do. I thank all those who supported us. I thank the people for their love.”
In the top court Friday, the Congress leader scored a legal and political victory when his conviction in the criminal defamation case – that had resulted in his disqualification from the Lok Sabha – was stayed by a three-judge bench.
Gandhi was taken to court by BJP MP and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for saying at a 2019 political assembly that all those with the surname Modi were thieves.
The apex court said Friday there was no doubt the utterances were not in good taste and that a person in public life was expected to exercise caution while making public speeches.
“He ought to have been more careful,” the top court observed while staying the Congress leader’s conviction, which was upheld by the Gujarat High Court earlier this month.
The Supreme Court wanted to know why the maximum sentence given to Gandhi was two years – the exact period that meant he would also be disqualified as a member of Parliament and from running in next year’s general election. “Had the judge given a sentence of one year and 11 months, Gandhi would not have been disqualified,” the top court observed.
The court also noted that no reason was given by the trial court judge for imposing the maximum sentence and that the order of conviction needed to be stayed before a final decision.
While granting interim relief to the Congress leader, the apex court said: “The ramifications of the trial court’s order were wide… Not only was Gandhi’s right to continue in public life affected, but also that of the electorate who elected him.”
A three-judge bench of Justices B.R. Gavai, P.S. Narasimha, and Sanjay Kumar said in the interim order: “The sentence for an offense punishable under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code is maximum of two years of sentence or fine or both. The learned trial judge, in the order passed by him, has awarded the maximum sentence of two years. Except for the admonition to the petitioner by this Court in a contempt proceeding, no other reason has been granted by the learned trial judge while imposing the maximum sentence of two years. t is to be noted that it is only on account of the maximum sentence of two years imposed by the learned trial judge that the provisions of Section 8(3) of the Representation of Peoples Act came into play. Had the sentence been a day lesser, then the provisions would not have been attracted.
“Particularly when the offence was non-compoundable, available, and cognizable, the least which was expected from the learned trial judge was to give reasons for imposing the maximum punishment. Though the learned appellate court and the High Court have spent voluminous pages in rejecting the applications, these aspects are not seen considered”.
The stay virtually reverses Gandhi’s disqualification, because the Supreme Court, in 2018, had clarified that disqualification triggered by a conviction will cease to operate if the conviction is stayed by a court.
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The ‘Modi surname’ case
In a pre-poll rally in 2019, Rahul Gandhi had linked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname to that of fugitives Lalit and Nirav Modi.
On the campaign trail in Kolar, Gandhi had said: “Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi… how come they all have Modi as a common surname? How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?”
This resulted in a criminal defamation case against Gandhi, filed by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.
On 23 March 2023, the 52-year-old was convicted and sentenced to two years by a magistrate’s court in Surat for the disparaging comments.
While handing down the jail term, the magistrate’s court, however, suspended the sentence and gave Rahul Gandhi time to appeal in higher courts.
But the Congress leader, who was the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad in Kerala, was disqualified the very next day, according to an apex court ruling that automatically disbars a sitting MP if they get a jail sentence of two years or more. The conviction also meant he would not be able to run in next year’s general election.
Gandhi then challenged the order in a sessions court in Surat, along with an application seeking a stay on the conviction.
The Surat court granted him bail on 20 April till the pendency of the case but refused to stay the conviction. Gandhi moved the high court five days later.
On 7 July, the Gujarat High Court dismissed Gandhi’s appeal, saying the conviction was “just, proper and legal”.
High Court Justice Hemant Prachchak observed that Gandhi was seeking a stay on absolutely “non-existential grounds”. “Stay on conviction is not a rule. As many as 10 cases are pending against (Gandhi). It is needed to have purity in politics… A complaint has been filed against (Gandhi) by the grandson of Veer Savarkar in a Pune court after Gandhi used terms against Veer Savarkar in Cambridge… Refusal to stay conviction would not in any way result in injustice to the applicant. There are no reasonable grounds to stay conviction. The conviction is just, proper and legal,” the judge added.
Congress leaders had said the verdict was “disappointing but not unexpected” and accused the central government of weaponising the judiciary as part of its attacks on the Opposition.
The BJP, however had welcomed the verdict, calling Gandhi a “habitual offender of defaming leaders and the country”.
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