The Supreme Court of India has announced the suspension of the defamation conviction of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. This decision raises questions about the justification for the severity of the sentence and reinstates the possibility for Gandhi to sit again in Parliament.
In a ruling that surprised many observers, the Supreme Court of India suspended the defamation conviction of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. The judges of the lower court and the appellate court had previously imposed a maximum sentence of two years in prison, but had not provided a convincing justification for this severity.
According to legal analysts, only an imprisonment of at least two years can result in the disqualification of a Member of Parliament, which raised questions about the previous decision.
This suspension of the conviction means that Rahul Gandhi will soon be able to resume his seat in the lower house of Parliament. Upon his arrival at the Congress party headquarters in New Delhi, he was warmly welcomed by enthusiastic supporters.
However, this legal victory does not end the debate. The Supreme Court will have to later examine the merits of the case to determine whether Gandhi’s statements during the 2019 election campaign, where he said “all thieves have the surname Modi,” do indeed constitute defamation against the Modi community.
