On Wednesday, a Gujarat high court judge recused herself from hearing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s appeal request for a stay of execution in the criminal defamation case. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment by the Surat court in the case.
Justice Gita Gopi instructed the court registry to remand the case to the Chief Justice for assignment to a different bench.
Pankaj S. Champaneri, the attorney for the Congressman, requested an urgent hearing before the high court justice. The motion was challenged by the assistant government pleader (AGP), who argued that the matter should be allowed for urgent circulation but not hearing. However, Pankaj S. Champaneri objected, claiming that the state had no involvement because it was a private complaint.
Justice Gita Gopi withdrew from the case after a brief hearing and ordered the court registry to refer the case back to the chief justice for a new bench to be assigned. She wrote, “Not before this court,” withdrawing her right to preside over the proceeding.
Rahul Gandhi appealed to the Gujarat high court on Tuesday to overturn his conviction in the ‘Modi thieves’ case from a Surat magisterial court last month. He contested the April 20 ruling issued by a Surat sessions court rejecting his application for a stay of the conviction.
After the magistrate court found him guilty of the defamation charge and gave him a two-year prison sentence, his membership in the Parliament was immediately suspended. He was granted regular bail and had his two-year sentence deferred while his appeal was underway, despite the fact that extra sessions judge Robin Mogera declined to stay his conviction.
The lawyer for the suspended Wayanad MP noted that he had been in touch with the high court, sent scanned copies of the revision application to the high court registry, and would provide the signed application in the physical copy on Wednesday.
Rahul Gandhi was given a two-year prison term in March under Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) with his comment, “Why all thieves share the Modi surname,” which he stated at a political campaign in April during the 2019 general election. The case against Gandhi was filed by Surat Bharatiya Janata Party MLA and former minister Purnesh Modi.
He also had to leave his official residence in Delhi, on Saturday, where he had been living as the MP for the Wayanad constituency.
