THE GUJARAT high court said on Saturday that it will resume the hearing of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea challenging the order by the Surat sessions court on May 2. Earlier, a Surat court declined his stay on conviction in a criminal defamation case over the "Modi Surname" remark. 

The case was being heard by Justice Hemant Prachchhak that was filed by Gandhi challenging the April 20 order of the Sessions Court. Gandhi's reinstatement as a Member of Parliament is possible if the High Court allows his plea.

According to the Bar and Bench website, the single-judge bench said that Rahul Gandhi should make his statements within limits and bounds as he is representing the people at large.

"In fact, it is his more duty towards the people at large. He is representing the people at large. He must make his statements within limits and bounds," the judge orally remarked as quoted by the Bar and Bench website.

In response, Gandhi said that he has not committed any grave offence like murder or any offence that involves moral turpitude.

"Nobody can suggest that my case falls under moral turpitude or serious category. In fact, my case is a bailable one and it is not against the society at large," Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi submitted in behalf of Gandhi.

 

A metropolitan magistrate's court in Surat on March 23 convicted and sentenced Gandhi to two years in prison in a criminal defamation case for a remark he made about the Modi surname ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Following the verdict, Gandhi was disqualified as a Lok Sabha MP from Kerala's Wayanad on March 24. On April 3, the former Congress president filed an appeal before the sessions court against the verdict and was subsequently granted bail until the disposal of his plea.

On April 20, the court rejected Gandhi's plea for a stay on his conviction, prompting him to move the high court.