Verdict in Rahul Gandhi's plea for stay on conviction in defamation case likely on Thursday

A sessions court in Gujarats Surat is likely to pronounce its order on Thursday on Congress leader Rahul Gandhis plea for a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his Modi surname remark A stay order could pave the way for Gandhis reinstatement as a Member of ParliamentThe court of Additional Sessions Judge RP Mogera had last Thursday reserved its verdict for April 20 on Gandhis application for a stay on conviction pending his appeal against a lower courts order sentencing him to two years in jail in the case Gandhi had earlier submitted that the trial court treated him harshly after being overwhelmingly influenced by his status as an MPThe 52yearold politician was elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala in 2019 but was disqualified a day after a metropolitan magistrate court in Surat on March 23 sentenced him to two years in jail in a case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party BJP MLA Purnesh Modi under sections 499 and 500 defamation of the Indian Penal CodeGandhi had on April 3 moved the sessions court against the lower courts order His 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 appealWhile granting Gandhi bail the court issued notices to complainant Purnesh Modi and the state government on his plea for a stay on conviction It heard both parties on Thursday last week and reserved the order for April 20MLA Modi had filed a criminal defamation case against Gandhi over his remarks How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname made during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13 2019Arguing for Gandhis plea for a stay on conviction his lawyer told the court that the trial in the case was not fair and there was no need for maximum punishment in the caseIn his submission Gandhi said that if the March 23 judgment of the trial court is not suspended and stayed it will cause irreparable damage to his reputationHe said the excessive sentence is contrary to the law on the subject and unwarranted in the present case which has overriding political overtonesGandhi termed his conviction as erroneous and patently perverse and said the trial court treated him harshly after being overwhelmingly influenced by his status as an MPAlso Read Sunstroke deaths Congress leader Nana Patole urges governor to sack Shinde govtThe appellant has been treated harshly at the stage of determination of sentence taking into account his position as a Member of Parliament hence the farreaching implications would have been in the knowledge of the trial court he saidThe Congress leader said that he was sentenced in a manner so as to attract the order of disqualification because the trial court was well aware of his status as a ParliamentarianThe byeelection once held in Gandhis Lok Sabha constituency due to his disqualification cannot be undone if his conviction is not stayed even if the court subsequently acquits him he said Such an election will also cause irreparable loss to the state exchequer he saidOpposing his plea MLA Modi had told the court that Gandhi is a repeat offender with several criminal defamation proceedings against him going on in different courts across the countryHe said that the way Gandhi came to file his appeal shows extraordinary arrogance and a very dirty display of childish arrogance and an immature act of bringing pressure upon the court Many Congress leaders had accompanied Gandhi when he went to file his appealHe also accused him of making unfair and contemptuous comments against the court through his aides associates and leaders of his party and others at his behest following his sentencingThe accused is in the habit of making such defamatory and irresponsible statements which may either defame others or may hurt the feelings of others in the name of freedom of speech and political criticism and dissent he stated in his affidavitThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever