Modi Surname Case: Hearing on Rahul's petition now on August 4; Supreme Court notice to Gujarat government and others

The Supreme Court on Friday heard Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's petition in the defamation case related to the Modi surname remark. Supreme Court issues notice to former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi on Rahul Gandhi's plea. The Court also issued notice to the State of Gujarat in the defamation case. Purnesh sought 21 days from the court to file a reply to the notice, but the court granted him 10 days. The Court said that the limited question at this stage is whether the conviction is liable to be suspended. The next hearing of the case will be on August 4.

challenged the decision of the High Court

Earlier, the Gujarat High Court had dismissed a petition seeking a stay on Rahul Gandhi's sentence. After this, the former Congress President challenged the decision of the High Court in the apex court.

What are the arguments in the petition?

The petition said that if the impugned judgment does not stay, it will suffocate free speech, free expression, free thought, and free expression.

The petition also said that the mistake of convicting Rahul and refusing to stay the conviction was committed thrice. This is all the more reason why the apex court should intervene in the matter at the earliest and prevent whatever damage was done.

It was stated in the petition that if the sentence of the petitioner is not stayed, he may lose eight important years of his career.

Rahul said in the petition that if the High Court's decision was not stayed, it would encourage repeated attempts to systematically undermine democratic institutions. This will suffocate democracy. This will be harmful to India's political climate and future.

What is the matter?

At a rally in Kolar, Karnataka during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi had said, 'How come all thieves have Modi as their surname?' Regarding this, BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had filed a defamation case against Rahul Gandhi. A case was registered against Rahul under IPC sections 499 and 500 (defamation).

What has happened in the lower courts so far?

On March 23, the lower court convicted Rahul and sentenced him to two years. The very next day, Rahul lost his Lok Sabha membership. Rahul had to vacate his official residence as well. On April 2, Rahul filed a petition in the High Court against this decision of the lower court. Justice Prachhak, while hearing Rahul Gandhi's petition in May, refused to grant interim relief to him. After this, on July 7, the court gave its verdict in this matter and dismissed Rahul's petition.

What did the High Court say?

Rejecting Rahul's petition, the Gujarat High Court had said that 'cleanliness' in politics is the need of the hour. People's representatives should be of clean image. The court had also said that staying the conviction is not the rule but the exception. It is used only in rare cases. Justice Prachchak, in his 125-page judgment, had said that Rahul Gandhi was already facing 10 cases across the country. Therefore, the order of the trial court is just, proper and valid.

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