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Supreme Court to fix a date to hear Rahul Gandhi's plea challenging Gujarat HC order on ‘Modi surname’ case today
The appeal has been filed exactly a week after the high court dealt a blow to Gandhi’s endeavour to revive his Lok Sabha membership
Plea challenging the Gujarat high court's refusal to put a stay on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's conviction in a criminal defamation case will be mentioned today in the Supreme Court. This comes two days after a petition was filed following the high court's refusal to stay the two-year jail term charged by the magistrate court on the Congress leader, leading his disqualification as the Lok Sabha MP.
The appeal has been filed exactly a week after the high court dealt a blow to Gandhi’s endeavour to revive his Lok Sabha membership, ruling that the Congress leader “breached modesty” and that his offence involved “moral turpitude”. The appeal was filed on Saturday morning, and it is yet to be assigned a date of hearing. Gandhi’s lawyers are expected to mention the appeal for an early hearing next week.
The Congress leader's appeal reached the apex court after his earlier pleas to the session court and high court were turned down.
Gandhi urged the top court to immediately stay his conviction to enable him to regain his MP status, arguing the conviction order would lead to throttling of free speech, free expression, free thought, and free statement.
“It would contribute to the systematic, repetitive emasculation of democratic institutions and the consequent strangulation of democracy which would be gravely detrimental to the political climate and future of India,” he said.
The high court order indicated that Gandhi's disqualification from the Parliament will continue.
Under the law, the conviction and two-year jail term renders Gandhi unfit to enter either House of Parliament for a period of eight years. But this can be reversed if he can get the conviction overturned or suspended by a higher court.
