Rahul Gandhi reinstated as Lok Sabha MP after SC stays conviction in 'Modi' surname remark case

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday has been reinstated as the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala's Wayanad constituency. The development comes days after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in the 'Modi' surname remark case.

A notification from the Lok Sabha Secretariat confirmed that Gandhi's disqualification as MP stood revoked.  "In view of order dated 04.08.2023 of the Supreme Court of India, the disqualification of Shri Rahul Gandhi, notified vide Gazette Notification no. 21/4(3)/2023/TO(B) dated the March 24, 2023, in terms of the provisions of Article 102 (1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, has ceased to operate subject to further judicial pronoucements," the Lok Sabha Secretariat notification on Monday read.

Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha after he was convicted in a defamation case by a Surat court in March this year. The court convicted him in a defamation case over his 'Modi' surname remark and sentenced him to two years in prison.

BJP leader and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi filed a criminal defamation case in 2019 against Gandhi's "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" remark during an election rally in Karnataka's Kolar in April 2019.

The Gujarat High Court had dismissed Gandhi's plea against conviction and observed that "purity in politics" was the need of the hour. Following this, Gandhi approached the Supreme Court for staying his conviction in the case.  

Gandhi had said in his affidavit before the apex court that the complainant BJP leader Purnesh Modi used "slanderous terms" such as 'arrogant' to describe the Congress leader only because he refused to apologise.

Modi had sought the dismissal of Gandhi's appeal in the SC and said Gandhi's attitude disentitles him to any relief such as a stay in conviction as it "reveals arrogant entitlement, rank insensitivity to an offended community and contempt for the law".  The BJP leader also said in his reply to the SC that Gandhi defamed all those having Modi surname, especially those belonging to the 'Modi Vanik' caste of Gujarat.

The affidavit filed by Rahul Gandhi also claimed that using the criminal process and the Representation of People's Act to get the Congress leader to apologise for no fault is an abuse of the judicial process. After hearing both the sides, the top court stayed Gandhi's conviction in the case. While staying Gandhi's conviction, the top court said the trial judge of the Surat Court did not provide sufficient reasons for imposing a prison sentence of two years. 

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