Indian Court Rejects Opposition Leader's Request To Pause 2-Year Prison Sentence

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2023) A court in the western Indian city of Surat, Gujarat province, has rejected a request to pause the two-year prison sentence of Rahul Gandhi, a former Indian lawmaker and major opposition party leader, in his defamation case, preventing the defendant from reinstating his membership of parliament and running in elections for eight years, media reported on Thursday.

In March, Gandhi was convicted and sentenced to two years' imprisonment by a court in Surat under charges of defamation related to remarks he had made against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 2019 Indian general election campaign. Gandhi was released on bail immediately after the trial, with his sentence suspended for 30 days to allow him to appeal to a higher court.

"Rahul Gandhi failed to demonstrate that by not staying the conviction and denying an opportunity to contest the election, an irreversible and irrevocable damage will be caused to him," trial court judge Robin Mogera was quoted as saying by Indian broadcaster NDTV.

The investigation against Gandhi was launched by Purnesh Modi, a member of the Indian Legislative Assembly from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. He stated that Gandhi had defamed all people bearing the Modi family name when he had asked "Why do all these thieves have the name Modi?" during a speech comparing Narendra Modi with notorious economic offenders Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.

The conviction was followed by protests by Indian National Congress party supporters in New Delhi as well as in other major Indian cities.