Gujarat High Court’s judge Justice Gita Gopi today recused from hearing the appeal filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking a stay on his conviction by the Magistrate court in a criminal defamation case against him.
Gandhi’s appeal was mentioned before single-judge Justice Gopi.
However, she said “Not before me” and also asked the advocate to approach the acting Chief Justice of the High Court, who can assign another bench for hearing the appeal.
Further, the sessions court in Surat on April 20, dismissed his plea seeking suspension of his conviction by the Magistrate court.
In a detailed order, the sessions court stated that Gandhi’s disqualification wouldn’t amount to be an irreparable or irreversible loss to him and refused interim relief to him.
Therefore, disqualified parliamentarian from Wayanad, Kerala was convicted by a magistrate court on March 23 for his controversial remark “All thieves have Modi surname.” Gandhi in a political campaign in 2019 in Kolar, Karnataka, linked Prime Minister Narendra Modi with fugitives like Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.
He had said, “Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi. How come all the thieves have ‘Modi’ as a common surname?”
Purnesh Modi (former BJP Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), took exception to the said speech claiming that Gandhi humiliated and defamed persons with the Modi surname.
The magistrate court in Surat accepted the contention of Modi that by his speech, Gandhi has intentionally insulted the people with a ‘Modi’ surname.
Judge Hadirash Varma stated that since Gandhi is a Member of Parliament (MP), whatever he says will have a greater impact. Thus, he should have exercised restraint.
The judge held that The accused had taken the reference of the surname of the current Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, to satisfy his political greed and insulted and defamed 13 crore people living in the whole of India having the surname ‘Modi’.”
The session judge refused to stay the same leading to the present plea before the High Court.
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