India court rejects Rahul Gandhi’s plea for stay on conviction

An Indian court on Thursday rejected a plea by top opposition figure Rahul Gandhi for a stay on a defamation conviction that prompted his expulsion from parliament last month.

Gandhi, 52, who was sentenced to two years imprisonment for remarks he made in 2019 seen as insulting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and those sharing his surname, had been looking to overturn the conviction before national elections due next year.

Modi’s government is widely accused of using defamation law to silence critics.

The case in the premier’s home state of Gujarat is one of several lodged in recent years against Gandhi, who is Modi’s chief opponent and the foremost member of the opposition Congress party.

The judge in Thursday’s hearing rejected Gandhi’s plea for a stay, Congress member Naishadh Desai told reporters, adding that the verdict would be appealed in the Gujarat High Court.

Critics highlight that the defamation conviction came after Gandhi repeatedly raised the issue of Modi’s relationship with business tycoon Gautam Adani both inside and outside parliament.

The two men — both Gujaratis — have been close associates for decades, but Adani’s business empire has been subject to renewed scrutiny this year after a US investment firm accused it of “brazen” corporate fraud, which it denies.

Gandhi, currently on bail, is the leading face of the Congress party, once the dominant force in Indian politics but now a shadow of its former self.

He is the scion of India’s premier political dynasty and the son, grandson and great-grandson of former prime ministers, beginning with independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru.

But he has struggled to challenge the electoral juggernaut of Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its nationalist appeals to the country’s Hindu majority.

In an appeal filed this month, Gandhi’s lawyers argued the trial was “harsh” and excessive.

They also said that if the trial court’s decision was not stayed, it would cause irreparable damage to his reputation.

The sentence renders Gandhi ineligible to stand in next year’s election, which Modi’s party is widely expected to win convincingly.