Rahul Gandhi Disqualified from Lok Sabha After Conviction in Defamation Case

Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha, effective from the date of his conviction in a criminal defamation case related to his “Modi surname” remark. The Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a notification to this effect today. Gandhi was an MP from Kerala’s Wayanad district.

This disqualification is based on Article 102 (1) (e) of the Indian Constitution, along with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act 1951. As per the 1951 Act, a person will be disqualified if convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for two or more years, and the disqualification will continue for a further period of six years after their release. It should be noted that the disqualification can be reversed if a higher court grants a stay on the conviction or decides the appeal in favor of the concerned person.

Yesterday, a court in Surat District, Gujarat, convicted Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case for his statement “why all thieves share the Modi surname” made during a political campaign in Karol in April 2019. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, HH Varma, sentenced him to two years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs. 15,000 after finding him guilty under Sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code.

While the court suspended his sentence and granted him bail to move an appeal within 30 days, his conviction was not suspended, which is required for a stay on the disqualification. The complaint was filed by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code, alleging that Rahul Gandhi had defamed all people with the ‘Modi’ surname during a rally in Kolar, Karnataka, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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