Gujarat High Court dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s review plea

The Gujarat High Court today dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s review plea seeking a stay on the conviction.

In a hearing on April 29, Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer had argued that two years in jail for a “bailable, non-cognisable offence” meant his client could lose his Lok Sabha seat “permanently and irreversibly”, which was a “very serious additional irreversible consequence to the person and the constituency he represents”.

Under the law, an MP stands disqualified if sentenced to two years or more in prison.

Gandhi, 52, was found guilty in court and sentenced to two years in prison in Gujarat on 23 March for his speech at the 2019 Lok Sabha campaign. BJP MLA and former minister of Gujarat Purnesh Modi had filed the case on Rahul Gandhi saying: “How come all thieves have the common name Modi?

Gandhi, who was MP Lok Sabha of Wayanad in Kerala, was disqualified soon thereafter.

Rahul Gandhi challenged the order before a court in Surat and an application to suspend the execution of the sentence. Although he was granted bail, the court, on 20 April, refused to suspend the sentence, after which he approached the High Court.