In a big relief to the grand old party, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in an interim order pertaining to a criminal defamation case related to his remarks about the ‘Modi surname'.
Gandhi had been disqualified as an MP of the Lok Sabha as a result of his indictment by a Surat court in the case in March this year.
What happens next? Can Rahul Gandhi return as a Lok Sabha member? Will he be able to re-enter Parliament before the no-confidence motion against the Modi government is debated?
DH brings you in the know. But first let's take a look at the developments so far.
What was the defamation case that landed Gandhi in a soup?
In 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi had allegedly said in Karnataka's Kolar "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?" while referring to Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.
Subsequently, Surat BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had lodged a complaint against the Congress leader claiming that Gandhi's remarks "defamed" the entire Modi community, following which a case was filed under IPC sections 499, 500 (for criminal defamation), and 504.
What was the outcome of the March 23 order by the Surat District Court?
Then, on March 23 this year, a local court in Surat convicted Gandhi in the defamation case.
The court sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years imprisonment under Sections 499 and 500. The sentence was later suspended after an appeal was filed for the same and the Congress leader was granted bail.
However, the day after Rahul was sentenced, the Lok Sabha secretariat issued a notification disqualifying him as a member of the Lok Sabha. Gandhi was an MP from the Wayanad seat in Kerala.
Now, what does the Supreme Court's stay order mean?
The Supreme Court's stay order essentially means that Gandhi's conviction now remains in abeyance. Thus, Gandhi's disqualification as a member of Parliament after his conviction will not operate from the date of the stay of conviction.
The top court's order also paves the way for the restoration of Rahul Gandhi's status as a Member of Parliament.
So, does this mean Rahul Gandhi will return as an MP?
The short answer: Yes, Gandhi will return as an MP. The question is 'when'?
As per the procedure for restoration of membership, Gandhi will need to make a submission to the Lok Sabha secretariat stating that his conviction has been stayed and that he should be reinstated as a Member of Parliament from Wayanad.
Gandhi or his representative will also have to submit a copy of the Supreme Court order staying his conviction in a defamation case to initiate the process to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
Typically, this should happen after the Lok Sabha Speaker formally revokes his disqualification. His perks as an MP would subsequently be reinstated. These include rent-free housing, monthly salary, constituency allowance, travel reimbursements, etc.
Will there be bypolls to fill the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat?
Wayanad, the Kerala constituency represented by Gandhi is unlikely to see bypolls as the Supreme Court's grant of stay has removed the grounds for disqualification.
The top court also noted the disqualification of Gandhi as the MP from Wayanad constituency in Kerala has affected not only his right but that of the entire electorate.
"We are of the considered view that the ramification of sub-section (3) of Section 8 of the Representation of People Act are wide-ranging. They not only affect the right of the appellant to continue in public life but also affect the right of the electorate, who have elected him, to represent their constituency," the bench had said.
What has the Congress said?
The Congress is hoping that Gandhi will reinstated as Lok Sabha MP at the earliest. In fact, soon after the Supreme Court issued the orders, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury met Speaker Om Birla to urge him to restore Gandhi's membership as soon as possible.
With the Opposition bloc's no-confidence motion against the Modi government being taken up on August 8 and continuing till August 10, the Congress hopes that Rahul will make a "grand re-entry" into the Parliament. If he is reinstated before August 10, Rahul may be one of the speakers for the party during the debate on the motion.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge too has raised the issue, saying "to disqualify him, everything happened in 24 hours, now let us see in how many hours, he is reinstated." He said the Gujarat court was hundreds of kilometres away but it took just 24 hours to disqualify him and now the Supreme Court is just a few kilometres from Parliament and they wanted to know how fast they would reinstate him.
(With DH inputs)
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