Criminal defamation case | Rahul Gandhi moves SC for suspension of his conviction

Rahul Gandhi approaches Supreme Court against Gujarat High Court’s refusal to stay conviction in criminal defamation case. He argued that the HC judgment did not consider Supreme Court and High Court judgments which hold that suspension of conviction is an exception in rare cases. He contended that the word 'Modi' does not indicate any definite or clearly identifiable group of persons.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on July 15 approached the Supreme Court against the Gujarat High Court’s refusal to stay his conviction in a criminal defamation case.

The petition is likely to be mentioned for early hearing

A single Judge Bench of the High Court had found no merit in Mr. Gandhi’s plea to suspend the conviction for him to appeal.

Justice Hemant M. Prachchhak had said “it is now the need of the hour to have purity in politics”. The judgment had highlighted that representatives of people should be men of clear antecedents.

Also read: Defamation perils: on the Rahul Gandhi case 

The judgment had reasoned that suspension of conviction was not the rule but only an exception resorted to in rare cases.

Mr. Gandhi has argued that the High Court judgment does not even consider a series of Supreme Court and High Court judgments which hold that a sitting MP’s conviction did indeed fall within the category of rare and exceptional circumstances.