Modi surname case: SC to hear Rahul Gandhi's plea against conviction tomorrow

A Surat court earlier sentenced him to two years in jail following a defamation case filed by a BJP leader Purnesh Modi.

A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice B R Gavai and also comprising Justice Prashant Mishra, will hear Rahul Gandhi's appeal.

The Congress leader and disqualified Lok Sabha MP had on July 15 knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court challenging the Gujarat High Court's order dismissing his plea to stay his conviction in the criminal defamation case over the 'Modi surname' remark.

He had moved the top court, seeking a stay on the Gujarat HC's verdict dismissing his appeal to stay his conviction in the criminal defamation case over the 'Modi surname.'

Gujarat High Court's Single-judge Justice Hemant M Prachchhak, who had reserved the judgement on May 2, pronounced the verdict on July 7.

Justice Prachchhak while pronouncing the verdict said that at least ten criminal cases were pending against Gandhi. "Anyway, the conviction would not result in any injustice. The conviction is just and proper. There is no need to interfere with the said order. Therefore, the application (filed by Gandhi) is dismissed," he said.

The Gujarat HC had passed the verdict after hearing in detail the arguments and submissions from Rahul, and the complainant, Purnesh Modi.

Rahul's lawyer, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, in the hearing, had questioned the Gujarat HC about the locus of the complainant, Purnesh Modi in filing the complaint in the first place.

"My case is that this appeal must succeed because law doesn't permit such complaints. Not anyone from the 13 crore people (with Modi surname) can come and file a complaint except the ones named in the speech. It is not even their case that I named Mr. Purnesh Modi," Singhvi had said.

[With UNI inputs]