AHMEDABAD: Disqualified Congress MP
Rahul Gandhi Tuesday filed a revision petition in the Gujarat high court, challenging the Surat sessions court’s rejection of his plea for a stay on his March 23 conviction for criminal defamation in the “Modi surname” case.
Rahul, who recently lost his Lok Sabha seat on grounds of him being sentenced to two years by a magisterial court, can be reinstated as MP from Kerala’s Wayanad if the Gujarat high court stays the conviction.
If the conviction and the two-year sentence sticks, Rahul will be barred from contesting elections for eight years under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
While dismissing Rahul’s plea on April 20, additional sessions judge Robin Mogera had said that the appellant being an elected representative, “he should have been more careful with his words” while addressing the 2019 rally in Karnataka’s Kolar where he made the “Modi surname” remark.
The judge mentioned that a “high standard of morality” had been expected of Rahul given his “stature as an MP and president of the second largest political party” at the time. BJP’s Surat (West) MLA Purnesh Modi filed the case that led to Rahul Gandhi’s conviction.