Rahul Gandhi's Conviction Paused: 6 Key Points Made By Supreme Court In Modi Defamation Case

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in the defamation case over his Modi surname remark.

The top court was hearing a plea by Gandhi challenging the Gujarat High Court verdict which dismissed his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.

Former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had filed a criminal defamation case in 2019 against Gandhi over his "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" remark made during an election rally in Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019.

Here are the six key points from the court's order:

1. The trial court has given the maximum sentence of two years in the case. However, no reason has been given by the trial court judge for imposing a maximum sentence, the order of conviction needs to be stayed pending final adjudication.
2. As the court gave the two-year sentence, it triggered the application of Section 8(3) of the Representation of Peoples Act. If the sentence had been one day shorter, this particular section would not have come into effect.
3. In this case, the offense committed was non-compoundable, bailable, and cognizable. It was important for the trial judge to provide reasons for giving the maximum punishment.
4. However, both the appellate court and the High Court have rejected the applications without addressing these crucial aspects, despite the learned appellate court and the High Court spending extensive pages to reject the applications.
5. While granting relief to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the SC said the ramifications of the trial court's order are wide. "Not only was Gandhi's right to continue in public life affected but also that of the electorate who elected him," it said.
6. There is no doubt that utterances are not in good taste, the person in public life is expected to exercise caution while making public speeches, the Supreme Court said. While accepting his affidavit in the contempt petition, he (Rahul Gandhi) ought to have been more careful, it said.