Patna HC stays proceedings against Rahul Gandhi in another defamation case

The Patna high court on Monday stayed until May 16 proceedings in a special court in Bihar against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case related to his comments about the Modi surname in 2019.

Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament (MP) after a court in Gujarat’s Surat last month held him guilty of criminal defamation over the remarks and sentenced him to two-year imprisonment. Any elected representative sentenced to two years or more faces immediate disqualification.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Modi filed a defamation case against Gandhi in Bihar, saying the remarks hurt the sentiments of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s supporters.

The special court in Patna earlier directed Gandhi to appear in person before it on April 25 to record his statement and prompted the Congress leader to move the high court. A single judge high court bench of Justice Sandip Kumar stayed the proceedings while hearing Gandhi’s plea for quashing the case.

Sushil Modi’s lawyer S D Sanjay said Gandhi’s counsel argued that once the Surat court pronounced the Congress leader guilty, another court cannot try him on the same charges. “The court gave me time to file reply a reply till May 16,” said Sanjay.

A sessions court on Thursday last rejected Gandhi’s plea for a stay on his conviction by the trial court in Surat and dealt a blow to his hopes of reversing his disqualification sooner.

Gandhi was disqualified as MP from Kerala’s Wayanad on March 24 a day after he was convicted and sentenced.

The BJP intensified its attack on Gandhi following his conviction claiming that his comment that “why all thieves have Modi in their names”, actually disparaged Other Backward Classes, which are estimated to account for over 40% of India’s population.

Gandhi argued his comments about the Modi surname during a speech in Karnataka were not defamatory and taken out of context.