THE GUJARAT High Court on Tuesday denied interim relief to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who sought to suspend his conviction and jail term in the ‘Modi surname’ defamation case. The court has reserved its order and is likely to announce the verdict in June.

ALSO READ: Rahul Gandhi Defamation Case: Final Arguments On Tuesday As Gujarat HC Defers Hearing Till May 2

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as Lok Sabha MP on March 24 after he was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail by Surat Court in a criminal defamation case over his 'why all thieves have Modi surname' remark. The case was filed by the BJP MLA Purnesh Modi.

Earlier on Saturday, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi while representing Gandhi told the Gujarat High Court that the Congress leader has not committed any grave offence including 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," Singhvi told the bench of Justice Hemant Prachchhak.

"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 further said.

Earlier on April 3, the Wayanad MP registered an appeal before the sessions court against the verdict of metropolitan magistrate's court of Surat which disqualified him as a Lok Sabha MP and sentenced him to two years imprisonment in the Modi surname case. He was subsequently granted bail by the court until the disposal of his plea.