The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a 2019 defamation case over his Modi surname remark, restoring his status as an MP. A three-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, P S Narasimha and Sanjay Kumar said no doubt that the utterances were not in good taste and that a person in public life is expected to exercise caution while making public speeches.
"No reason has been given by the trial judge for imposing maximum sentence, the order of conviction needs to be stayed pending final adjudication," the bench said.
While the Congress hailed the Supreme Court ruling calling the judgment a strong vindication of truth and asserting that "no force can silence the voice of the people", members of the Opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A also congratulated the leader. Shiv Sena leader Adityaa Thackeray also congratulated the leader and said, "I think it is an appropriate order. If you see the judgement, the order today, it is very important that we have people who speak the truth coming back to the Lok Sabha. Politics of hate, of vengeance will not win in this country. We support this order..."
Democratic Progressive Azad Party Chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad, who parted ways from Congress and has been a Rahul Gandhi critic said, "It's a good thing...There was no effect of his disqualification. He was doing the same job which he was doing earlier as an MP."
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also congratulated Rahul Gandhi. The Congress had supported AAP against Centre's ordinance on control of services in the national capital.
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