Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was convicted and given a two-year sentence in the Modi surname defamation case, which resulted in his disqualification as a member of parliament. Last week, the Supreme Court set a detailed hearing on his petition for a stay on conviction for August 4, rejecting his request for an immediate suspension of conviction.
He was disqualified from serving as the MP for Wayanad on March 24 under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act after being found guilty by a Surat court on March 23. His appeal was denied on April 20 by a second sessions judge, and on July 7 the Gujarat High Court declined to suspend his conviction awaiting the outcome of his petition against the trial court's decision.
An SC bench of Justices B R Gavai and Prashant K Mishra issued notice to the complainant, BJP MLA Purnesh Ishwarbhai Modi, who was represented by senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani.
After Rahul's lawyer, senior advocate A M Singhvi, said the SC may consider either granting interim stay on conviction, which would have allowed Rahul to be reinstated as an MP, or fixing final hearing within the shortest possible period, the court granted him 10 days to make his answer.
The bench chose Singhvi’s latter option and said, “The limited question arising in this petition is whether the conviction deserved to be suspended or not.” Singhvi said a stay on the trial court’s verdict was essential and legitimate as the “frivolous conviction” had already ousted Rahul from Parliament for 111 days, shutting down the voice of Wayanad’s people in Parliament.