‘Modi surname’ defamation case: Supreme Court stays Rahul Gandhi’s sentence
New Delhi: The Supreme Court today stayed the sentence against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the ‘Modi surname’ remark defamation case.
The Supreme Court said, “In this case, the trial judge gave a maximum sentence of 2 years in jail, but if the sentence was less than one day, he would not have been declared ineligible.” However, the ‘trial judge’ did not give reasons for imposing the maximum sentence. Therefore, the stay on the sentence was continued till the final judgment.
The Supreme Court further said, “There is no doubt that the comments made by the petitioner are not interesting.” Applicants should be more careful while speaking.
However, the consequences of disqualification not only affect individual rights but also voters, said the Supreme Court.
It is to be noted that the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and PV Sanjay Kumar was hearing Rahul Gandhi’s appeal for stay on the sentence.
The Gujarat High Court had earlier refused to grant a stay on the sentence passed by the Surat court.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Rahul, said that Gandhi has been charged after the trial. But, so far no evidence has been found in this case.
Singhvi argued that the original surname of the complainant Purnesh Modi was not ‘Modi’. He changed his surname and became ‘Modi’. He himself also said, “He belongs to the community of ‘Modh Vanik Samaj’.” However, in the speech, Rahul did not mention the name of anyone from the ‘Modh Vanik Samaj’ community.