Thu 23 March 2023:
A Surat district court in Gujarat on Thursday convicted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case against him over his alleged ‘Modi surname’ remark in April 2019.
Gandhi was convicted under IPC sections 499 and 500. The maximum possible punishment under this section is two years.
The Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate H.H. Varma sentenced him to two years in jail and also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 after finding him guilty; however, on Rahul Gandhi’s plea, his sentence has been suspended and bail has been granted to enable him to move an appeal against his conviction within 30 days.
The lawyer representing Rahul Gandhi said that they will move to session court soon.
BJP MLA and former Gujarat Minister Purnesh Modi had filed the case against Rahul Gandhi for his alleged “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking at an election rally in Karnataka state in April 2019, ahead of the last general election, Gandhi had said: “Why do all thieves have Modi as their surname? Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi.”
What wrong did Rahul Gandhi say to get convicted and sentenced for 2 years?
Aren't Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi Chors? Decide if Rahul Gandhi said anything wrong. pic.twitter.com/V1autDUbaA
— Anshuman Sail Nehru (@AnshumanSail) March 23, 2023
Nirav Modi is a fugitive Indian diamond tycoon while Lalit Modi is a former chief of the Indian Premier League who has been banned for life by the country’s cricket board.
The remarks were video graphed by the video surveillance team and video viewing team of the office of Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer, Kollar District.
The complainant claimed that the controversial remark was made at a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections which defamed the entire Modi community.
Chief Judicial Magistrate H.H. Varma last week had concluded hearing the final arguments from both sides and set March 23 to pronounce its judgment.
Gandhi has maintained that there was no mala fide intention on his part when he made the statement in question.
Gandhi is one of the main opposition leaders in the country who will go up against Modi when he seeks his third term as prime minister in 2024.
Gandhi’s once-dominant Congress controls less than 10% of the elected seats in parliament’s lower house and has lost badly to the BJP in two successive general elections, most recently in 2019.
India’s criminal defamation law is a British-era legislation under which there can be a maximum prison sentence of two years or a fine or both.
Free speech advocates have often argued that the law goes against the principles of freedom and that it is is used by politicians to silence their critics.
In 2016, some top Indian politicians including Gandhi had filed legal pleas arguing for defamation to be decriminalised. But India’s Supreme Court upheld the validity of the law, saying that the “right to free speech cannot mean that a citizen can defame the other”.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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