AHMEDABAD: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s petition for a stay of conviction in a defamation case was rejected by a court on Thursday in India’s western state of Gujarat, raising doubts about his ability to run in the next election.
In a case brought by a state legislator from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Gandhi was found guilty last month of making remarks that were deemed to be insulting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other people with the surname Modi.
According to Congress leader and lawyer Naishadh Desai, the Surat district court has not granted Rahul Gandhi’s conviction a stay. He stated that they would challenge the decision tomorrow in the Gujarat High Court. They have full confidence that the judiciary will maintain equity and save democracy.
Even though Gandhi suffered a setback as a result of Thursday’s decision, he will not serve time in jail until all of his legal challenges to the conviction are resolved. Gandhi, 52, lost his parliament seat in Spring subsequent to being sentenced and condemned to two years in prison for remarks made during a political race rally in 2019. Any Indian lawmaker who has been “convicted of any offense and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years” must be disqualified from running for office.
