New Delhi: The Supreme Court today suspended Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in a criminal defamation case over his remarks on the ‘Modi’ surname. The order will allow him to return to parliament and contest national elections due next year.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and PV Sanjay Kumar said that the trial court did not give any specific reasons for imposing the maximum punishment of two years’ imprisonment prescribed under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the offence of defamation though the offence is a non-cognizable one.
The apex court further noted that that the ramifications of the ruling (of conviction) are wide and affect the rights of electorate of Wayanad, the constituency which Gandhi was representing as a member of parliament (MP) in the Lok Sabha.
He had been disqualified from parliament after his conviction in the case.
At the same time, the Court also said that persons in public life should exercise caution while making statements.
