Prøve GULL - Gratis
Fast-track to jail: Gandhi verdict raises questions on freedom of India's courts
The Guardian
|April 11, 2023
In a court system with a backlog of 40m cases, one lawsuit appeared to move through India’s courtrooms unusually fast.
It concerned Rahul Gandhi, the country’s best-known opposition leader, and comments he had made at a campaign rally during the 2019 general election.
He compared his political rival, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, with two convicted criminals who also bore the same surname. “Why do all these thieves have Modi as a surname?” Gandhi asked crowds gathered in the state of Karnataka.
Hundreds of miles away in Gujarat, Purnesh Modi, an elected representative of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), filed a legal case, alleging Gandhi had defamed the “entire Modi community”. There are an estimated 130 million people called Modi in India.
For the next two years, the case progressed at a glacial pace common to India’s courts, with months-long gaps, including a freeze at Purnesh Modi’s request. But on 16 February this year, he suddenly returned, citing “new evidence” that would never appear.
With a new judge at the helm, the case now moved, as one Congress leader described it, like a “bullet train”. Seven hearings took place in just 20 days and by 23 March Gandhi was found guilty of defamation. He was sentenced to two years in jail, the maximum.
Gautam Bhatia, a supreme court lawyer, called the verdict “completely indefensible from any perspective”.
Denne historien er fra April 11, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian.
Abonner på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av kuraterte premiumhistorier og over 9000 magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
FLERE HISTORIER FRA The Guardian
The Guardian
United's flawed process meant Amorim was always doomed
Data is a less certain guide when recruiting coaches but it can still provide answers to some fundamental questions
4 mins
January 06, 2026
The Guardian
Managers constantly face questions. Those with power should do the same
Analysis Will Unwin
2 mins
January 06, 2026
The Guardian
Amorim blinded by formations when football's brutal currency remains results
The men in suits behind the scenes believed the coach would adopt an attacking style once he had bedded in
4 mins
January 06, 2026
The Guardian
Rourke uses GoFundMe to help him pay $59,000 in rent
Mickey Rourke has turned to fundraisers to pay the $59,000 (£44,000) heallegedly owesin rent, after being sued by his landlord and facing eviction from his Los Angeles home.
1 min
January 06, 2026
The Guardian
Managerial catastrophe is another sign of a club in turmoil
Any club confirming the end of an error after eight games owes an apology to their supporters.
3 mins
January 06, 2026
The Guardian
Thick and thin? Bonds with China put to the test
Hours before his life and the fate of his country was changed dramatically, Venezuela's leader, Nicolás Maduro, was exchanging smiles and handshakes with a Chinese delegation in the presidential palace in Caracas.
2 mins
January 06, 2026
The Guardian
NHS staff shortages 'causing deaths and disabilities' post-stroke
Thousands of people who have had a stroke are ending up severely disabled or dead because the NHS has too few specialists to treat them quickly enough, senior doctors have said.
3 mins
January 06, 2026
The Guardian
Russia Grudging respect and unease as Moscow weighs up loss of an ally
A surprise raid on the capital in the dead of night, ending with the capture of the country's leader.
3 mins
January 06, 2026
The Guardian
Bangladesh pulls out of Twenty20 cricket matches in India as tensions grow
Bangladesh will not play their Twenty20 World Cup matches in India, with the country’s cricket board saying it is concerned for the safety of its players amid growing tensions between the countries.
1 mins
January 06, 2026
The Guardian
‘The injustice drove me’
Campaigner's 60-year fight for abortion rights
2 mins
January 06, 2026
Translate
Change font size
