Rahul sentenced to 2 yrs imprisonment in 'Modi surname' defamation case, gets bail

FACES LS DISQUALIFICATION RISK AFTER SURAT COURT’S VERDICT

NEW DELHI: A Surat court on Thursday held Congress MP Rahul Gandhi guilty in a 2019 defamation case and sentenced him to two years imprisonment.

The court approved Gandhi's bail on a surety of Rs 15,000 and stayed the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal.

The case filed by former Gujarat minister and BJP MLA from Surat West Purnesh Modi pertains to the alleged remarks Gandhi made on April 13, 2019, at a Lok Sabha election rally in Karnataka's Kolar where he said: "Why all the thieves have Modi in their names whether be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, and Narendra Modi?" The order was pronounced by Chief Judicial Magistrate H H Verma. Gandhi was present inside the courtroom on Thursday afternoon along with several national and state Congress leaders.

With this, the fate of the Congress MP as a Member of Parliament hangs in balance unless he manages to get the conviction stayed in a higher court.

Though the court verdict has given a fuel to the BJP, which has been batting for Rahul's removal for over two months, the example of Union Law Ministry's handling of the case of an MP from Lakshadweep may prove to be an interesting precedent for the Congress to safeguard' it's leader's disqualification.

Notably, the Law Ministry has recommended the reinstatement of PP Mohammed Faizal after his conviction in an attempt to murder case was put on hold by the Kerala High Court.

The MP was initially convicted by a court in Lakshadweep in January, but a week later, the Kerala High Court had suspended the conviction and said his disqualification as a Lok Sabha member will no longer be valid.