India’s top court suspends Rahul Gandhi’s defamation conviction

AFP | New Delhi                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

India’s top court yesterday suspended the defamation conviction of Rahul Gandhi, a decision that could pave the way for the senior opposition politician to return to parliament after his disqualification.

Gandhi, 53, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in March. He was turfed out of the legislature as a result but has stayed out of jail while appealing the case up to the Supreme Court in New Delhi.

A justice there said that the initial trial judge had failed to justify imposing the maximum sentence on Gandhi for his comments, made during a campaign rally four years ago.

“The order of conviction needs to be stayed pending final adjudication,” Justice B.R. Gavai said in his ruling. News of the decision was greeted with jubilation at the headquarters of Gandhi’s opposition Congress party, where supporters handed out sweets and cheered his triumphant arrival.

“I would like to thank the people who helped us and the people who loved and supported us,” he told reporters. Gandhi is the scion of India’s premier political dynasty and the son, grandson and great-grandson of former prime ministers, beginning with independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru.

His Congress was once the dominant force of Indian politics but has withered in the face of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Gandhi himself has lost two elections to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has cast his chief as a princeling out of touch with the concerns of ordinary Indians.

The conviction stemmed from a remark made during the 2019 election campaign when Gandhi had asked why “all thieves have Modi as (their) common surname”.