Guj court rejects Rahul's plea for suspension of conviction in defamation case
Darpan News Desk IANS, 20 Apr, 2023 11:09 AM
Surat, April 20 (IANS) The sessions court in Surat on Thursday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking suspension of his conviction in the defamation case that led to his disqualification from Parliament.
The court had convicted Gandhi on March 23 for his remarks made during an election rally in Kolar in April 2019, where he had said that "all people with the Modi surname are thieves".
The court sentenced him to two years in prison and he was disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha the next day.
Rahul Gandhi's lawyers had filed two applications, one for bail till the disposal of his appeal and another for suspension of his conviction until the appeal is decided.
Senior advocate R.S. Cheema, appearing for the Congress leader, argued that only an aggrieved person could file a defamation complaint as per the law, while also pointing out that the speech was not defamatory until it was taken out of context.
The case was filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi, who had claimed that Rahul Gandhi's statement had defamed all the people with the Modi surname.
The court had found Rahul Gandhi guilty under IPC Sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation).
He had claimed that the trial court treated him harshly because of his status as an MP.
Cheema also questioned the Surat court's jurisdiction, pointing out that the speech was made in Kolar.
The court rejected Rahul Gandhi's plea, which means that he cannot be reinstated as an MP.
It also imposed the maximum punishment permissible under the law, and Rahul Gandhi's punishment could not have been even a day less to allow him to retain his seat as an MP.
Her resignation came hours after she was given water supply and sanitation, social security, women and child development, printing, and stationery departments in the new Cabinet led by Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
There is a Twitter war going on between senior BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy and Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, the national secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) with allegations and counter allegations flying thick and fast against each other.
Terming Sidhu's resignation as sheer drama, Amarinder Singh said the move suggests that his former Cabinet colleague is preparing the ground to quit the Congress and join hands with some other party in the run-up to the Assembly polls scheduled next year.
The campaign will celebrate and curate innovative, sustainable and equitable climate solutions and actions being pioneered by young people in India. The focus is on strengthening engagement with governments and civil society for a more collaborative approach to climate action, a release said.
Traffic across Punjab and Haryana is likely to hit badly and see traffic disruptions for several hours as farmers, farm labourers, commission agents, trade and employee unions and activists of political parties squatted on national highways till 4 p.m.
The police said as soon as they received information about Baghel's death, they rushed to the spot and took him to a nearby hospital where the farmer was declared brought dead. After the post-mortem it was learnt that the farmer died due to heart attack.
