Rahul Gandhi’s conviction stayed by SC in defamation case, Lok Sabha membership to be restored

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in the criminal defamation case for a speech in which he asked why many thieves had the surname Modi, Live Law reported.

The decision means that Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership can be restored. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said that the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, will urge the Speaker to restore his membership, ANI reported.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and PV Sanjay Kumar said that the trial court did not give any specific reasons for imposing the maximum punishment – two years of imprisonment – in the case, according to Bar and Bench.

“Particularly when the offence was non-compoundable, bailable and cognizable, the least which was expected from the learned trial judge was to give reasons for imposing the maximum punishment,” the court observed, reported Live Law.

The bench also said that had the sentence given to Gandhi been even a day lesser, then he would not be disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

The court also noted that the ramifications of the lower court’s ruling were wide and adversely affected the rights of the people of Wayanad, the constituency Gandhi represents in the Lok Sabha.

The Supreme Court, however, said that Gandhi’s remarks were not in “good taste” and that a...

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