29-04-2023 : The Gujarat High Court is set to continue hearing the defamation case involving Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on May 2, with the possibility of delivering a judgment on the same day. Gandhi was convicted by a lower court in Surat for making a defamatory remark against the Modi community during an election campaign in 2019.
The conviction resulted in a two-year prison sentence and the loss of Gandhi’s Lok Sabha seat representing the Wayanad constituency in Kerala. Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared on behalf of Gandhi and questioned the locus standi of the complaint, while Nirupam Nanavati represented BJP leader Purnesh Modi and argued that the plea by Gandhi was non-maintainable.
The single judge had orally observed that Gandhi, as a public representative, must make statements within limits and bounds as per media reports. During the hearing, Singhvi submitted that Gandhi was given the maximum punishment after the case was heard for only 10 minutes and quoted several past judgments. Nanavati argued that the court should have asked for translated copies of the witnesses’ statements, which are in Gujarati, and was given time by the court to file an affidavit.