On Tuesday, the Gujarat High Court declined to grant Rahul Gandhi, a Congress leader, interim relief in his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case. Justice Hemant Prachchhak presided over the bench, which reserved its order and refused to grant Rahul Gandhi any interim protection. The decision on whether to grant a stay on his conviction will be made by the bench after the High Court vacation.
Senior Advocate Nirupam Nanavaty, who represents the complainant Purnnesh Modi, and Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the Congress leader, made their arguments before the bench, which reserved the hearing after considering their arguments.
Nanavaty argued that Rahul Gandhi could not claim to be suffering an irreversible loss since he was not disqualified by the court or the complainant but by a law passed by parliament. He further stated that Rahul Gandhi had shown no remorse for his statements made in a public rally in Karnataka’s Kolar in 2019, and after being convicted by the Surat Court on March 23, he conducted a press conference in which he called the conviction a ‘gift’ for him.
Singhvi, on the other hand, argued that the alleged offense did not involve moral turpitude and was a non-cognizable, bailable, and non-serious offense. He further argued that the Court should take into account that, in Gandhi’s case, the element of the irreversibility of the situation is involved as being an elected MP, he has lost his right to be a representative of the people due to the conviction.
The court reserved its verdict after hearing both sides of the argument.
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