Date Set For Order On Rahul Gandhi's Plea For Stay On Defamation Sentence

The Surat sessions court set 20 April as the date for pronouncing its decision on Rahul Gandhi's appeal for a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case.

A court in Surat had sentenced the Congress leader to two years imprisonment on 23 March, after finding him guilty for his comment made during an election rally in 2019, where he said, "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname."

After being disqualified from Parliament due to his conviction, Gandhi appealed the decision and requested a conviction stay until the sessions court reviews his appeal.

Sarma announced at a press conference Sunday (9 April) that the defamation case would be filed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Guwahati visit on 14 April.

Meanwhile, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar's grandnephew has filed a criminal defamation complaint against Gandhi in a Pune court for allegedly calling Savarkar a coward, and making 'false, malicious & wild' allegations against him in an event in London.