#criminaldefamationcase

Rahul Gandhi, who is a prominent leader of Congress Party, has been disqualified from the Lok Sabha. This disqualification is a result of a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that mandates the immediate disqualification of Members of Parliament and Members of the Legislative Assembly who are convicted of a crime that carries a minimum sentence of two years. Prior to this ruling, such individuals were allowed to appeal their conviction and retain their positions in parliament until their appeal was resolved.In 2013, when the Supreme Court ruling was passed, the Congress Party was in power in the center of India. However, despite the Supreme Court ruling, the Congress government attempted to push an ordinance that would have overturned the disqualification rule. This ordinance was seen as an attempt by the Congress Party to protect politicians who had been convicted of crimes from being immediately disqualified.Rahul Gandhi, however, opposed his party's decision to push the ordinance and called it "complete nonsense". He publicly stated that if the Congress Party was serious about fighting corruption, they could not make such compromises. Gandhi's opposition to the ordinance caused a stir within the Congress Party and highlighted a divide within the party. He eventually succeeded in convincing the party to scrap the ordinance.Fast forward to today, and Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified from the Lok Sabha under the same rule that his party had tried to overturn. Gandhi was convicted in a criminal defamation case filed by a BJP leader for comments he made about individuals with the surname "Modi". The BJP leaders claimed that Gandhi's remarks were a smear against all those sharing the Modi surname, which is associated with Other Backward Classes (OBCs).Several opposition leaders have criticized the BJP government for using what they consider to be a frivolous and bizarre case to target Rahul Gandhi. They claim that the BJP government is using the legal system to silence opposition leaders ahead of the national election. However, BJP leaders have stated that Rahul Gandhi's conviction has nothing to do with them and that the case followed due process of law.

On March 17, 2022, a Surat district court in Gujarat, found Congress MP Rahul Gandhi guilty in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him for his remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi had allegedly made the statement, "how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?" at a rally in Karnataka's Kolar ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The court has convicted Gandhi under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).Following the verdict, Rahul Gandhi quoted Mahatma Gandhi in a tweet, saying, "My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God, non-violence the means to get it- Mahatma Gandhi." The Congress leader was present in court when the verdict was announced. The court sentenced him to two years in jail, but granted him bail and suspended his sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal the decision.Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, has stated that they will fight the judgement as per law. "He has been granted bail. We knew from the beginning because they kept changing judges. We believe in law, judiciary and we will fight against this as per law," Kharge told ANI.The defamation case was filed by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi. Following Gandhi's alleged remarks, the MLA had lodged a complaint against him. The Surat district court announced the verdict in the case on March 17, 2022. The court granted Gandhi bail, but he has to appear before it within 30 days to appeal the decision. The Congress party has not yet made a statement regarding the verdict.