Surat Court’s verdict on Rahul Gandhi’s plea likely today

A Surat sessions court is likely to give its verdict on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s plea for a stay on his conviction in the 2019 Modi-surname case.

A lower court sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years’ imprisonment in the case following which he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha. If the court orders a say on the lower court order, it may pave the way for Rahul Gandhi’s reinstatement as an MP.

Here’s what happened so far in the case:

March 23: Rahul Gandhi was convicted in the Modi-surname case.

March 24: Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha

March 27: Rahul Gandhi was asked to vacate the official bungalow allotted to him as the MP by April 22.

April 3: Rahul Gandhi appealed against his conviction and said he was treated harshly at the stage of determination of sentence and the maximum sentence has caused him irreparable loss.

Rahul Gandhi’s lawyers also filed two applications, one for a stay on the sentence (or bail till the disposal of his appeal) and another for a stay on conviction till the disposal of the appeal.

April 13: The court heard both parties — Rahul Gandhi and complainant Purnesh Modi and reserved the verdict for April 20.

April 14: Rahul Gandhi started the process of vacating his official bungalow.

What is the Modi-surname case?

In 2019, addressing a rally in Karnataka’s Kolar, Rahul Gandhi wondered why ‘all thieves have Modi surname in common’. Gujarat’s BJP leader Purnesh Modi filed a complaint and Rahul Gandhi was convicted in 2023. The Congress cried political vendetta behind this as they said the conviction took place soon after Rahul Gandhi raised the Adani question in Parliament. The conviction and the subsequent disqualification from the Lok Sabha brought the opposition together in condemnation.