- Rahul Gandhi for the first time, has made a statement in the SC that he would not apologize even as he seeks a stay on his conviction.
- Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made it clear that he had no intention of apologizing, Maintaining that he is not guilty of the offence of defamation.
- Rahul claimed there is no community or “samaj” on record going by the name ‘Modi’ and hence, the offence of defaming the Modi community as a whole does not arise.
- The exceptional award of maximum punishment of two years by the Surat court in March, Gandhi said, is a major consideration for the court to consider the stay of sentence.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday submitted in the Supreme Court that he would not apologize to settle the criminal defamation case that cost him his membership in parliament, maintaining that his conviction by a Surat court is unsustainable and that he has an “excellent” chance of success in his appeal. This is the first time Gandhi made a statement in the top court that he would not apologize even as he seeks a stay on his conviction to be able to regain his MP status.
In his rejoinder affidavit filed, Gandhi criticized Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Purnesh Modi, the complainant in the defamation case against him, for calling him “arrogant” in an affidavit before the court just because Gandhi refused to tender an apology and express remorse over his remarks on ‘Modi’ surname at a poll rally in 2019.
The petitioner maintains and has always maintained that he is not guilty of the offence and that the conviction is unsustainable and if he had to apologize and compound the offence, he would have done it much earlier,” stated Gandhi’s affidavit, settled by senior advocates Prashanto C Sen and Rajinder Cheema. Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi argues the matter for Gandhi.
Instead, the Congress leader said, his case has excellent chances of success before the appellate court and is an “exceptional case”, considering that the offence is a trivial one and that irreparable harm accrues to him as an elected MP because of continuing disqualification.
Requesting the apex court to stay his conviction, Gandhi pointed out that though Purnesh Modi has harped upon several pending cases against him to demonstrate his alleged criminal antecedent, he has not been convicted in any other case and most of the pending cases have been instituted by leaders of rival political parties.
Gandhi added that defamation is not an offence against the society that should attract the consequences he is being made to suffer and that repeated reference to his stature and public standing is an extraneous consideration that must not come in the way of granting him the reprieve. The exceptional award of maximum punishment of two years by the Surat court in March, Gandhi said, is a major consideration for the court to consider the stay of the sentence.
A bench led by Justice BR Gavai is expected to take up Gandhi’s appeal on August 4. On July 21, the top court issued a notice on Gandhi’s appeal against the Gujarat high court order that declined to put on hold his conviction and a two-year jail term in the criminal defamation case.
In his plea, Gandhi urged the top court to immediately stay his conviction to enable him to regain his MP status, arguing the conviction order would lead to throttling of free speech, free expression, free thought, and free statement.
Gandhi complained that a political speech in the course of democratic political activity, critical of economic offenders, and also of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been held to be an act of moral turpitude inviting the harshest punishment.
Responding to the court notice, Purnesh Modi, MLA from Gujarat’s Surat-West, on July 31 said that Gandhi’s personal hatred towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi led him to cast grossly defamatory aspersions on persons who incidentally bore the same surname as the prime minister.
(With inputs from agencies)
