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By Srishti Ojha: Senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Saturday, arguing on behalf of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a criminal defamation case over his “Modi surname” remark, told the Gujarat High Court that “very serious ex-facie vitiating factors” about the trial’s process led to his conviction.
The Gujarat High Court began hearing today Rahul Gandhi’s appeal challenging the order of the Surat sessions court declining a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case.
Justice Hemant Prachchhak of the high court took up the criminal revision application filed by Gandhi challenging the April 20 order of the sessions court.
If the high court allows his plea, it could pave the way for Gandhi’s reinstatement as a Member of Parliament.
On Wednesday, high court judge Justice Gita Gopi recused herself from hearing the case after it was brought before her for an urgent hearing. The matter was then assigned to the court of Justice Prachchhak.
Arguing in the high court, Singhvi said, “There are very serious ex-facie vitiating factors of the trial that raise grave apprehension about the process of trial which led to the conviction.”
“In the case of a public servant or a legislator, it has very serious additional irreversible consequences – to the person, the constituency, and also drastic consequences of re-election,” Singhvi told the court.
Singhvi in court said, “Judge says that he bases his case on the ground that was admonished by SC in Rafale case and was asked to be more careful and since you were warned there, your error here is more.”
“SC order was delivered in November 2019 and the alleged statement was made in April 2019, it is an apparent error of the court asking him to be retrospectively careful. SC’s order in Rafale case was the basis of the order, but the same was not put to me and i was not confronted with the same,” Singhvi added.
Singhvi told the court that “on date of summons, there’s no prosecutable evidence. You’ve not proved, nor are you a witness, neither is the reporter a witness.”
“On the day of conviction, there was no admissible evidence before Court- Whatsapp message (containing alleged speech) not proved. Pendrive was also not produced, there was no mention of it in the complaint. The CD containing the alleged speech appears miraculously through one witness Yaji,” Singhvi said.
He pointed out that this witness is not there in the complaint, not in the witness list, and he appears only in early 2021. He is a member of the BJP and a close associate of the complainant.
Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to two years in jail in the defamation case against him for his “all thieves have Modi surname” remark. He was convicted by a metropolitan magistrate’s court in Surat on March 23 court under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation).
Following the verdict, Gandhi, elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala in 2019, was disqualified as a Member of Parliament (MP) under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.
Gandhi challenged the order in a sessions court in Surat along with an application seeking a stay to the conviction. While granting him bail, the court on April 20 refused to stay the conviction.
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