Rahul Gandhi Moves Supreme Court Against Gujarat HC Refusing To Stay Conviction In 'Modi Thieves' Remark Defamation Case

The criminal defamation case was filed over a remark made by Gandhi during the 2019 Lok Sabha campaign. Referring to persons like Lalit Modi, and Nirav Modi, Gandhi had asked "Why do all thieves have the same surname?".

Alleging that Gandhi's comment defamed the entire Modi community, BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi filed a criminal defamation case against him.

Gandhi has maintained that there was no malafide intention on his part when he made the statement in question.

On March 23, 2023, the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Surat convicted and sentenced Gandhi to 2 years imprisonment, following which he was disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha. However, his sentence was suspended, and he was also granted bail on the same day to enable him to move an appeal against his conviction within 30 days.

On April 3, Gandhi approached the Surat Sessions Court assailing his conviction and further seeking a stay on his conviction, which was rejected on April 20. However, Surat Sessions Court on April 3 granted bail to Gandhi till the disposal of his appeal.

Dismissing Gandhi's revision plea, the Gujarat High Court observed that the case against Gandhi concerns a large identifiable class (Modi Community) and not just an individual.

The Court added that being a senior leader of the oldest political party in India and a "prominent figure in the realm of the Indian political landscape", Gandhi is vested with a duty to ensure that the dignity and reputation of a large number of persons or any identifiable class is not "jeopardised" due to his political activities or utterances.

Significantly, the HC also took note of other complaints pending against Gandhi, including one filed by the grandson of Vir Savarkar in the Pune Court. The HC noted that in the alleged speech, Gandhi used defamation utterances against Vir Savarkar at Cambridge University.

Rahul Gandhi's Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court has been drawn by Advocates Tarannum Cheema and S Prasanna and settled by Senior Advocates Prashanto Kumar Sen, Harin P Raval, R S Cheema and re-settled by Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi.