SC Agrees To Hear Rahul Gandhi's 'Modi Surname' Plea

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear the plea of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi challenging the Gujarat High Court order which declined to stay his conviction in the criminal defamation case in which he was sentenced to two years in jail by Surat court over 'Modi surname' remark.

The apex court will hear Rahul's plea on July 21.

Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the former Congress chief's petition before Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud for urgent listing and the apex court agreed to list on Juy 21. Gandhi has lodged a special leave petition challenging the Gujarat High Court's decision to not grant a stay on his conviction in the criminal defamation case.

On July 7, Gujarat High Court dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.

While dismissing the plea, Justice Hemant Prachchhak noted that Gandhi is already facing 10 cases across India, adding the order of the lower court was "just, proper and legal" in convicting the Congress leader. The HC noted that there is no reasonable ground to stay the conviction, according to a report in PTI.

A metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat on March 23 sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in a 2019 case filed by BJP Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi.

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