Post SC’s stay on Rahul Gandhi’s conviction, AAP MP calls for Decriminalisation of Defamation Bill, 2023

 

New Delhi: Hours after the Supreme Court stayed the conviction of former Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in the ‘Modi surname’ defamation case, Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha reiterated that he will be introducing the Decriminalisation of Defamation Bill, 2023, to repeal Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

‘I’ll be introducing a Private Bill titled The Decriminalization of Defamation Bill, 2023 to repeal Sections 499 & 500 of the India Penal Code to bring it in line with international jurisprudence on defamation & repeal these relics of colonial past to ensure fearless discourse’, Raghav Chadha tweeted. Raghav Chadha hailed the Supreme Court’s stay on Rahul Gandhi’s conviction and said that its intervention “reinforces people’s trust” in the Indian democracy and the judicial system. “The Hon’ble Supreme Court’s intervention in an unjust defamation case against @RahulGandhi reinforces people’s trust in our democracy and judicial system. Criminal Defamation has become a tool to suppress the voice of the opposition, which holds the Govt accountable,” he wrote in his tweet.

The Supreme Court in an interim order on Friday stayed the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in the criminal defamation case over the ‘Modi surname’ remark. After his conviction in the case, Gandhi was declared disqualified as MP from Kerala’s Wayanad on March 24 following notification of the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The apex court, while granting relief to Gandhi, said the ramifications of the trial court’s order are wide.

Not only was Gandhi’s right to continue in public life affected but also that of the electorate who elected him, the bench said. Congress leader was sentenced to two years in jail in a defamation case filed by Purnesh Modi. He was disqualified as MP following his conviction. At a rally in Karnataka’s Kolar in April 2019, Rahul Gandhi, in a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, ‘How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname’? The apex court earlier in the day began hearing of an appeal filed by the Congress leader challenging Gujarat High Court order which declined to stay his conviction in the criminal defamation case.