India’s top court suspends Rahul Gandhi’s defamation conviction, he could return to parliament
- Court decided no reason had been given by the trial judge for imposing the sentence on the opposition leader, which made him ineligible to sit in parliament
- His conviction stemmed from a remark about the surname of Narendra Modi, whose government is widely accused of using the defamation law to silence critics
India’s top court on Friday 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.
“No reason has been given by [the] trial judge for imposing the maximum sentence”, Justice BR Gavai said in his ruling. “The order of conviction needs to be stayed pending final adjudication”.
Gandhi was sentenced to two years’ jail for comments he made in 2019 that a court ruled were insulting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and those sharing his last name.
Anyone sentenced to a custodial term of two years or more is ineligible to sit in India’s parliament, and the initial verdict forced Gandhi’s expulsion from the body in March.
His conviction stemmed from a remark made during the 2019 election campaign when he asked why “all thieves have Modi as [their] common surname”, in a jibe at the prime minister.
His sentence was “gravely detrimental to democratic free speech”, added the document.
Modi’s government has been widely accused of using the defamation law to silence critics.