Modi surname remark: Rahul Gandhi likely to be disqualified from Lok Sabha

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Modi surname remark: Rahul Gandhi likely to be disqualified from Lok Sabha (Image: Twitter/@INCIndia)
Modi surname remark: Rahul Gandhi likely to be disqualified from Lok Sabha (Image: Twitter/@INCIndia)

New Delhi : Congress President Rahul Gandhi may get disqualified from the Lok Sabha after a court announced 2 years of imprisonment over Modi surname remark. The defamation case against him was filed in 2019.

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma, who held Rahul Gandhi guilty under the Indian penal code sections 499 and 500, later granted him bail and suspended the sentence for next 30 days to allow him to appeal in High Court against the decision.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi was present in the Surat court when the sentence was pronounced by Justice HH Varma.

What happens when a MP is sentenced to Jail?

In normal scenario, if a Member of Parliament is sentenced to jail, then technically he attracts disqualification from the Lok Sabha under section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 until or unless the sentencing has been stayed by a higher court.

Rahul Gandhi or any other MP is allowed a time frame of 3 months to challenge against the decision in the High Court.

Defamation case against Rahul Gandhi

Ex-Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had filed a criminal case against Rahul Gandhi, claiming that he has defamed the Modi community by his remarks.

The Congress MP in 2019 had made the remark – " Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi…How come they all have Modi as common surname? How come all the thieves have Modi as common surname?"

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi had claimed that the defamation case is just an attempt by the opposition to keep him silent.

Rahul Gandhi cannot approach Supreme Court directly

Since Rahul Gandhi has been convicted in a criminal case, he cannot approach the High Court or Supreme Court directly. However, a third party can make the move and ask higher judiciary to intervene on the grounds that the procedure and the manner of the Surat Court's ruling hurt larger public interest.