The Gujarat high court dismissed Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the defamation case. Justice Hemant Prachchhak delivered the verdict at 11am. If Rahul Gandhi's conviction was stayed, he could have got reinstated in Parliament.
Rahul Gandhi Modi surname case: Here is what happened so far
1. On March 23, 2023, Rahul Gandhi was convicted by a district court in Surat in the Modi surname case. Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to two years in jail.
2. On March 24, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha as a convicted politician can not remain a parliamentarian.
3. Rahul Gandhi approached the Surat sessions court for a stay on the conviction. On April 20, the sessions court rejected Rahul Gandhi's plea and said Rahul Gandhi, being the MP and the former chief of the country's second-largest political party, should have been more careful.
4. On April 25, Rahul Gandhi appealed to the high court challenging the Surat sessions court order.
5. In May, the Gujarat high court refused to grant any interim relief to Rahul Gandhi and said the final order will be passed after the summer vacation.
6. After Purnesh Modi's case in Surat in which Rahul Gandhi was convicted, several other defamation cases were filed against Rahul Gandhi. One such was filed by Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi. The Patna high court on July 4 stayed the proceedings of the criminal defamation case until January 12, 2023.
{{/usCountry}}6. After Purnesh Modi's case in Surat in which Rahul Gandhi was convicted, several other defamation cases were filed against Rahul Gandhi. One such was filed by Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi. The Patna high court on July 4 stayed the proceedings of the criminal defamation case until January 12, 2023.
{{/usCountry}}7. The Jharkhand high court on July 4 passed an order in connection with another defamation case filed by advocate Pradeep Modi and said no coercive action should be taken against Rahul Gandhi until the next hearing on August 16.
8. On July 7, the Gujarat high court refused to stay Rahul Gandhi's conviction in the Modi surname case.
What is the Modi surname case?
In 2019, Rahul Gandhi while campaigning for the Lok Sabha election in Karnataka's Kolat, made a comment linking the Modi surname with thieves. "How come all thieves have Modi surname in common," Rahul Gandhi said as he spoke about Nirav Modi.