Modi Surname Case: Congress To Challenge Rahul Gandhi's Conviction In Supreme Court

Kozhikode (Kerala): The Congress on Friday said it would move an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the Gujarat High Court order dismissing party leader Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark. AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said, "There is one more option before us... The Supreme Court. Let's see. The Congress party will seek that option too".

Venugopal said this while addressing a party programme organised in Kozhikode district of northern Kerala. His statement came soon after the Gujarat High Court dismissed Gandhi's plea, upholding the order of the lower court, describing it as "just, proper and legal". A stay of the conviction would have paved the way for Gandhi's reinstatement as a Member of Parliament.

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A metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat on March 23 sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in a 2019 case filed by BJP Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi.

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The MLA had filed a criminal defamation case against Gandhi over his "how come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?" remark made during an election rally at Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019.