Disappointing, but not unexpected; will move SC: Congress on High Court's refusal to stay Rahul's conviction in defamation case

The Congress on Friday termed the Gujarat High Court verdict refusing a stay on Rahul Gandhi's conviction in a defamation case as legally "wrong" and said it will move the Supreme Court against it.

The party also alleged that the government is finding newer techniques to throttle the freedom of speech in the country and throttle the voice of Gandhi for speaking the truth. It said the verdict redoubles its resolve to pursue the matter further and it will fight the battle both legally and politically.

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress spokesperson and Gandhi's counsel in the case Abhishek Singhvi said the dismissal of the plea is "disappointing, but not unexpected". He also said they had to wait for 66 days for the judgement to come and an appeal will be filed against it in Supreme Court "very shortly".

Sources said the party is likely to move the Supreme Court before the upcoming session of Parliament beginning July 20.

Singhvi said the ultimate court is the court of the people and they see what is happening and how an "entire cottage industry has been unleashed against one individual" as he speaks the truth.

"The jurisprudence we have received from Gujarat, both from high court and sessions court is unique because has it has no other parallel or precedent in the jurisprudence of the defamation law," he noted. He also said that the high court has called it a heinous crime as if it a crime against the country.

"We have full faith in the judiciary and in particular in the apex court where we are now proceeding. We have no doubt that this intersection of arrogance and infallibility shown by this government of the day and the ruling party of the day will be dealt with properly in the Supreme Court," he said.

"I will not reiterate the gymnastics that took place at the stage of trial, where the complainant got a one year stay on his own complaint, and then revived it after there was a change on the bench. And, it was that second magistrate, who proceeded to pass that order of conviction," he said.

Singhvi said this is not just about Gandhi or any particular person, as it is about free speech and expression. The aim of this government is to control the freedom of expression and "that is why the law of defamation has been misused in this case". This is part of a bigger conspiracy to put an end to independent speech and expression and throttle such thoughts by anyone, he alleged.

"The more they have attempted to silence him (Rahul Gandhi); though harassment by the ED and the CBI, the breach of privilege notices, the petty removal of SPG (Special Protection Group) security to the disqualification from Parliament, he remains unmoved. And that is what exposes their fear," he said.

"It is consistent aggression that has compelled the government to find newer and newer techniques to throttle his voice...We are seeing this cycle of oppression and suppression play out once again. We will fight it. Rahul Gandhi will fight it. And if the last nine years are anything to go by, they will always fail to silence his vigilant voice," Singhvi said.

Party general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal in a tweet, said, "...Rahul ji is a fierce voice that takes the Modi government head on. No force can silence him, the truth will triumph and justice will ultimately prevail. Every patriotic Indian is in support of Rahul ji in this fight."

We will study the Gujarat HC verdict on Sh. @RahulGandhi ji’s conviction and explore all available legal options.

Rahul ji is a fierce voice that takes the Modi government head on. No force can silence him, the truth will triumph and justice will ultimately prevail. Every…

— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) July 7, 2023

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said no party leader or worker is afraid of BJP's "political conspiracy".

He alleged the BJP has used "lies" as part of a political conspiracy to get Gandhi suspended from Parliament, asserting that the Congress leader has been fighting for the truth and will continue his fight.

"The country is now well aware of Modi ji's double standards on corruption. None of the Congress leaders, workers are afraid of this political conspiracy. We will fight both the political and the legal battle. Satyamev Jayate," Kharge said on Twitter.

श्री @RahulGandhi ने हमेशा सच की लड़ाई लड़ी है, और आगे भी लड़ते रहेंगे।

सच यह है कि ललित मोदी, नीरव मोदी, मेहुल "भाई", विजय माल्या, जतिन मेहता जैसे भगोड़े, मोदी सरकार के निगरानी में जनता के पैसे लेकर, संदिग्ध रूप से विदेश पहुँच गए।

भाजपा ने उनको तो आज़ाद कर दिया, पर झूठ की…

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) July 7, 2023

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the reasoning of the judge is being studied and the matter will be taken up further. "The judgment only redoubles our resolve to pursue the matter further," he said.

"Why is that all cases filed against Rahul Gandhi are by members of the BJP ecosystem? Why is it that a stray reference to a complaint made on the last day of the hearing on May 2nd becomes a significant part of the judgement going against all codes and norms of fair justice," he asked.

AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said her brother is fighting the battle for truth and people's interests, and an "arrogant regime" is using all the tricks to deter him.

In a long Twitter post in Hindi soon after the court order, she quoted the poem "samar shesh hai...(battle is yet to be over)" by Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar' and launched a scathing attack on the Modi government. Several other senior leaders also raised questions on the high court order.

While general secretary Randeep Surjewala termed the order a "travesty of justice", senior spokesperson and MP Manish Tewari said a fundamental legal issue that is getting repeatedly overlooked by all courts in the case is: "Can Article 19(2) that is in the nature of a caveat i.E. Reasonable restrictions on free speech override the Fundamental right to free speech & expression provided in Article 19 (1)."

P Chidambaram said the whole purpose of the 'defamation' case was to disqualify Gandhi from Parliament.

While dismissing Rahul Gandhi's plea, Justice Hemant Prachchhak noted that he is already facing 10 cases across India, adding the order of the lower court was "just, proper and legal" in convicting the Congress leader. The court noted that there is no reasonable ground to stay the conviction in the defamation case over his "Modi surname" remark.

A metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat on March 23 had sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail after convicting him in a 2019 case filed by BJP Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi.