Guj court rejects Rahul's plea for suspension of conviction in defamation case
Darpan News Desk IANS, 20 Apr, 2023 11:09 AM
Surat, April 20 (IANS) The sessions court in Surat on Thursday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking suspension of his conviction in the defamation case that led to his disqualification from Parliament.
The court had convicted Gandhi on March 23 for his remarks made during an election rally in Kolar in April 2019, where he had said that "all people with the Modi surname are thieves".
The court sentenced him to two years in prison and he was disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha the next day.
Rahul Gandhi's lawyers had filed two applications, one for bail till the disposal of his appeal and another for suspension of his conviction until the appeal is decided.
Senior advocate R.S. Cheema, appearing for the Congress leader, argued that only an aggrieved person could file a defamation complaint as per the law, while also pointing out that the speech was not defamatory until it was taken out of context.
The case was filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, who had claimed that Rahul Gandhi's statement had defamed all the people with the Modi surname.
The court had found Rahul Gandhi guilty under IPC Sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation).
He had claimed that the trial court treated him harshly because of his status as an MP.
Cheema also questioned the Surat court's jurisdiction, pointing out that the speech was made in Kolar.
The court rejected Rahul Gandhi's plea, which means that he cannot be reinstated as an MP.
It also imposed the maximum punishment permissible under the law, and Rahul Gandhi's punishment could not have been even a day less to allow him to retain his seat as an MP.
The cause of the provocation is yet to be ascertained, an official told IANS, adding the situation is under control. Videos of the ruckus were viral on the social media. Many parked vehicles and a nearby police station was pelted on with stones.
The court had, on March 4, extended Sisodia's CBI custody for two days and listed his bail plea for March 10 and in the last two days, the CBI questioned him with key witnesses -- former excise commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna and former excise department secretary C. Arvind -- in this case, who recorded their statements in front of a magistrate.
A police official said that the two men, wearing masks, entered the bank branch at around 9.45 a.m. when only three employees were present there, and threatened the staff with a pistol. They forced the staff to open the vault where Rs 10 lakh was kept and fled with the money by 10.30 am.
The Chief Minister, who reviewed the arrangements for the mega event here, said Punjab is fully ready to host the sessions and asked the officers to ensure foolproof arrangements for the working sessions slated to take place at the holy city of Amritsar next week.
The arrested customers have been identified as Anil, Rajan, Sagir, Abhishek and Harish. The house belongs to one Neeraj Bhati. Police recovered six mobile phones, Rs 2,100 in cash and objectionable items from their possession.
As during over one-hour address in English, the Governor was referring to 36 government school principals being sent on a five-day leadership development programme to Singapore, Bajwa again stood up and reminding Purohit about his letter to Mann on the issue.
