Rahul Gandhi disqualified from Lok Sabha one day after conviction

'Modi' surname defamation case: Rahul Gandhi's conviction is effective from March 23

Just one day after this conviction in the criminal defamation case, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was on Friday disqualified as a member of Parliament (MP). The disqualification is effective from the date of his conviction, that is, March 23, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said. Gandhi was an MP from Wayanad.

Gandhi was convicted and handed a two-year jail term in a defamation case filed for his comments on the "Modi" surname in 2019. In a rally in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi said, "Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi...how come they all have Modi as a common surname? How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?"

Later, BJP member of the legislative assembly (MLA) Purnesh Modi filed a criminal defamation case against Gandhi. The cases were filed under sections 499, 500 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Section 500 prescribes for defamation a simple imprisonment for a "term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both."

The magistrate of the Surat district court, HH Verma, later suspended the sentence for 30 days, allowing Gandhi to appeal against the verdict in a higher court.

Later in the day, former law minister Kapil Sibal said that Gandhi stands automatically disqualified as a member of Parliament (MP) with the sentence. He added that Gandhi's seat would only be retained if the convicted is stayed by another court.

Gandhi's team said that they would appeal against the conviction in a higher court.

Despite his conviction, Gandhi attended the Lok Sabha on Friday.