Surat court delivers verdict on Rahul Gandhi's plea. What happened so far

If Rahul Gandhi's conviction is stayed, it will pave way for his reinstatement in Lok Sabha.

Update: Rahul Gandhuii's plea was rejected by the Surat court

A Surat sessions court declined to accept Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea for a stay on his conviction in the 2019 Modi-surname case. A lower court had sentenced him to two years' imprisonment in the case, following which he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha. If the sessions court had ordered a stay on the lower court's order, it could have allowed Gandhi's reinstatement as an MP. Read | 'Judge was misled, harsh; called me dheeth': Rahul Gandhi's lawyer

The order on Rahul Gandhi's appeal to stay his conviction is likely today.

Here's what happened so far in the case:

March 23: Rahul Gandhi was convicted in the Modi-surname case.

March 24: Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha

March 27: Rahul Gandhi was asked to vacate the official bungalow allotted to him as the MP by April 22.

April 3: Rahul Gandhi appealed against his conviction and said he was treated harshly at the stage of determination of sentence and the maximum sentence has caused him irreparable loss.

Rahul Gandhi's lawyers also filed two applications, one for a stay on the sentence (or bail till the disposal of his appeal) and another for a stay on conviction till the disposal of the appeal.

April 13: The court heard both parties -- Rahul Gandhi and complainant Purnesh Modi and reserved the verdict for April 20.

April 14: Rahul Gandhi started the process of vacating his official bungalow.

April 20: The sessions court rejected Rahul Gandhi's plea for the stay.

What is the Modi-surname case?

In 2019, addressing a rally in Karnataka's Kolar, Rahul Gandhi wondered why 'all thieves have Modi surname in common'. Gujarat's BJP leader Purnesh Modi filed a complaint and Rahul Gandhi was convicted in 2023. The Congress cried political vendetta behind this as they said the conviction took place soon after Rahul Gandhi raised the Adani question in Parliament. The conviction and the subsequent disqualification from the Lok Sabha brought the opposition together in condemnation.

Rahul Gandhi repeat offender: Purnesh Modi

Opposing Rahul Gandhi's stay plea, Purnesh Modi said Rahul Gandhi is a repeat offender who makes defamatory statements. Commenting on how Rahul Gandhi submitted his plea against the conviction with a band of Congress leaders, Purnesh Modi said it was very "dirty display of childish arrogance and an immature acy of bringing pressure upon the court".