SC stays Rahul Gandhi’s conviction

The Supreme Court on August 4, 2023, stayed the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case for his alleged ‘Modi’ surname remark in a political rally in 2019.

A three-judge Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai also comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and Sanjay Kumar, pointed out that the trial judge had not given any reason for imposing the maximum sentence of two years, and “not one day less”, because of which the issue of his disqualification from the Parliament has come into play, reports The Hindu.

The court, however, said Gandhi’s alleged remarks, if made, were not in good taste. A person in public life should exercise a degree of caution. Gandhi ought to have been more careful.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Gandhi, argued that defamation was a non-cognisable, bailable, and compoundable offence. He said he had not seen another case in which the maximum two-year sentence had been awarded. “In democracy, there is room for dissent. No serious offence like rape, kidnap or murder, which involves moral turpitude, has been committed. Gandhi has already missed two Parliament sessions,” Sanghvi said.

He also noted that a list of cases had been filed against Gandhi, all by BJP “karyakartas”, and there was no other conviction till date. “He has no criminal antecedents as he has not been convicted. There should be mutual respect in politics,” he said.

Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, for appearing for Purnesh Modi, argued that there were officials, witnesses, tapes, and recordings of Gandhi’s comments. “There was a clear intent to defame an entire community of people with the ‘Modi’ surname because of his hatred for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When asked in court, Gandhi said he does not remember his remark,” he said.

The case relates to Gandhi’s “Modi” surname remark in a political speech during a rally in Karnataka in 2019.

In his petition, Gandhi contended that the lower courts had branded his political speech critical of economic offenders and also of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, made in the course of democratic political activity, as an act of “moral turpitude”.

“A political speech in the course of democratic political activity, critical of economic offenders, and also of Shri Narendra Modi, has been held to be an act of moral turpitude inviting the harshest punishment. Such a finding is gravely detrimental to democratic free speech in the midst of a political campaign. It is respectfully submitted that the same will set a disastrous precedent wiping out any form of political dialogue or debate which is remotely critical in any manner,” the petition has argued.

He argued that the conviction and two-year sentence, the maximum punishment in defamation law, would result in the “inexorable exclusion of the petitioner from all political elective office for a long period of eight years”.

Challenging the July 7 Gujarat High Court decision which upheld his conviction, Gandhi asked how an “undefined amorphous group” could possibly be defamed in the first place.

/MHK/