Rahul Gandhi to appeal against his conviction today; all you need to know

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will on Monday file an appeal before a sessions court against his conviction in the criminal defamation case due to his "Modi" remarks. According to reports, Gandhi will be accompanied by several other Congress leaders including Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot.  

"Rahul Gandhi will reach the sessions court in Surat to file an appeal at around 3 pm," his lawyer Kirit Panwala said, as reported by the news agency PTI.

What is the case?

BJP member of legislative assembly (MLA) and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had filed the case against Gandhi for his alleged "how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?" remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The remarks were video graphed by the video surveillance team and video viewing team of the office of the deputy commissioner and district election officer of Kollar district.

The complainant claimed that the controversial remark was made at a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections which defamed the entire Modi community.

The chief judicial magistrate of Surat district court H H Varma had concluded hearing the final arguments from both sides and set March 23 to pronounce its judgment. On March 23, it convicted Gandhi and sentenced him to two years in jail.

It had held the Congress leader guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 499 and 500.

The court, however, also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to appeal in a higher court.

On March 24, Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

Following his disqualification, Gandhi would not be able to contest elections for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction and sentence.

Gandhi maintained that there was no mala fide intention on his part when he made the statement in question.

Just after the verdict, Gandhi wrote on Twitter in Hindi, "My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God, non-violence the means to get it. -- Mahatma Gandhi".

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had also said that the party will fight as per law.

After the conviction, Gandhi was asked to vacate his Tughlaq Lane bungalow where he has been residing in the bungalow since 2004. He has to do it latest by April 23.  

On April 9, Gandhi will hold a Jai Bharat rally in Kola, Karnataka. This comes after the EC announced the schedule for the Karnataka Assembly elections.

"Rahul Gandhi will be in Kolar on April 9 and address the Jai Bharat Mega Rally there. On April 11, he will visit Wayanad. He is the voice of the people, you can never silence him. This voice will only get louder and stronger," tweeted Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Friday.

The polling would take place in a single phase on May 10, and the counting of votes will be done on May 13

What happens now?

There can be two scenarios.

One, Gandhi would not be able to contest elections for eight years if the higher court does not stay his conviction and sentence.

Second, if it does, Gandhi will be able to contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.