Mobilenews24x7 Bureau
What next is plea by Rahul already rejected? Can he defend himself!
It has come as huge setback for the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after the session court in Surat rejected his plea for a stay on his conviction. Will he go for the punishment as mandated or not .
However, some reports say that the Congress may appeal in Gujarat High Court against the session court.
Jail for Rahul or not, it is a vital issue before the battery of legal luminaries in the Congress.
Politically although it has been argued by many that, the outcome from Surat was not tenable under artcle 121 but when the court rejected the fresh pleait has been viewed by some in the political circle as political witch-hunting.
The court, on 23 March, had convicted Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case for his comment that said “all people with Modi surname are thieves” that he made during an election rally in Kolar in April 2019.
He was sentenced to two years in jail and was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha a day later, the alacrity was surprising in a way.
A stay on the verdict would have paved way for Rahul Gandhi to be reinstated in the Parliament.
Since the sessions court on 3 April granted him bail in the case till the disposal of his appeal, Gandhi will remain out of prison but also out of the Parliament till the conviction by the Surat court is either stayed or suspended.
Which did not happen and the plea was straight away rejected.
That leaves the Congress to move the Gujarat High Court in the matter tomorrow, reports say.
Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha can be reversed if the Gujarat HC grants a stay on the conviction by the Surat court or rules in his favour against the sessions court’s order.
However, under Section 389 of the CrPC, the stay cannot just be the suspension of the sentence , but a stay of the conviction, a legal expert said.
Congress communications incharge Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter to say: “We will continue to avail all options still available to us under the law.”
Congress leader Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi will address the media at 4:00 pm.
Interestingly, the defamation was filed by none of the aggrieved persons as it was so generalized in its essence.
Pleading for Rahul Gandhi, senior advocate Cheema said that  the complainant (BJP Leader Purnesh Modi) was shocked at his statements, and that his reputation was hurt. However these reasons do not make Purnesh Modi an aggrieved person
