Rahul Gandhi’s lok sabha membership has been reinstated on Monday, 137 days after he was disqualified.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a notification today, following which Congress MP Rahul Gandhi arrived at Parliament.
The leaders of the Indian National Development Alliance (INDIA) welcomed him in Parliament, chanting slogans of “Long live Rahul Gandhi.” Upon reaching the parliamentary building, the Congress leader paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi.
He updated his account bio on Twitter (formerly known as ‘X’) from ‘Disqualified MP’ to ‘Member of Parliament.’
The Congress leader was also seen distributing sweets outside the Parliament.
In fact, on Friday, August 4, the Supreme Court had stayed Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in the defamation case. The case involved alleged criminal defamation for his comment, made during a political rally in 2019, using the name ‘Modi.’
The bench comprising of Justices B.R. Gawai, P.S. Narasimha, and Sanjay Kumar noted that the trial judge had not provided any specific reason for awarding Rahul Gandhi a maximum sentence of 2 years.
However, the court opined that Rahul Gandhi’s alleged remarks lacked proper intention. It was stated that an individual in public life should exercise a certain level of caution, and Rahul Gandhi should have been even more vigilant.
On behalf of Rahul Gandhi, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that defamation is a non-cognizable, bailable, and compoundable offense. He mentioned that he hadn’t come across any other case where a maximum sentence of two years was given. “In a democracy, there is room for dissent. No serious offense involving moral turpitude, such as rape, abduction, or murder, has incurred such a severe sentence. Rahul Gandhi has already lost two parliamentary sessions. This injustice is not only against him but also against the voters in his parliamentary constituency.”
Singhvi asserted that the case against Rahul Gandhi had been filed by BJP “workers.” No other guilty party had been identified in such cases.
Rahul Gandhi doesn’t have a criminal history since he has never been proven guilty before.
On behalf of Purnesh Modi, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani argued that witnesses, evidence, recordings, and documents existed for Shri Gandhi’s comments. He stated, “Due to hatred towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there was a clear intent to defame an entire community of people using the ‘Modi’ nickname.”
In the Supreme Court petition, Rahul Gandhi argued that lower courts had considered his political speeches, which criticized financial misconduct and criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi during democratic political activities, as a “moral turpitude.”
Furthermore, he contended that designating a political speech, which criticized financial misconduct and Narendra Modi during democratic political activities, as “moral turpitude,” and subjecting him to a severe punishment was gravely detrimental to democracy and freedom of expression.
He argued that the finding of guilt and a two-year sentence, which is the maximum sentence under the defamation law, “would mean the petitioner would be separated from all political life for a very long period of 8 years. This is inappropriate.”
