'All Thieves Have Modi Surname' Remark: Final Order On Rahul Gandhi's Conviction In Defamation Case To Be Delivered On 5 July

The Gujarat High Court reopened after the summer vacation over three weeks ago, but the much-awaited and keenly watched judgment on the defamation case involving former Congress president Rahul Gandhi is still pending.

While hearing the plea on 2 May, the High Court declined to grant interim relief to Gandhi, who had sought a stay on his conviction by a Surat court.

The final order on the matter would be passed on 5 July, after the court reopens post-summer vacation.

Justice H M Prachchhak heard the case and requested the records from the trial court in Surat.

The court has stated that, “The court will pass the final order after the vacation as the hearing has been concluded,” adding, “It’s in the interest of justice and fitment of the case that the matter be finally decided.”

However, the conviction was not stayed, despite the plea made by senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represented Gandhi.

According to Singhvi, "This is the first-ever case in which the maximum punishment under the law has been imposed for criminal defamation."

In March, a local court in Surat convicted and sentenced Gandhi to two years in imprisonment for a criminal defamation complaint filed by BJP legislator Purnesh Modi.

Legislator Modi filed the complaint, stating that Gandhi's statement, "Why all thieves have the Modi surname in common," had defamed and tarnished the Modi community.

During the last parliamentary polls in 2019, Gandhi repeated the same remark while addressing a campaign rally in Karnataka. Gandhi's conviction and sentencing led to his immediate disqualification as a member of the Lok Sabha.

However, if the conviction had been stayed, it could have helped him lift the disqualification.

After his conviction and sentencing, Gandhi approached the Surat Sessions Court in April 2023, seeking suspension of the sentencing and a stay on the conviction pending his appeal.

However, the sessions court granted him bail but refused to stay the conviction.