India Today:
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was sentenced to two years in prison in a defamation case, was granted bail by a sessions court in Gujarat’s Surat on Monday. The court will hear his appeal against conviction in the defamation case on April 13.
The Congress leader had sought a stay on conviction and suspension of the 2-year sentence. However, the sessions court refused to stay the conviction. The court said such an order cannot be passed without hearing all sides.
A notice has been issued to the complainant in the case to respond by April 10. The next hearing will be on April 13.
Rahul Gandhi was convicted by a lower court and sentenced to prison for two years last month for a speech in which he linked PM Modi’s last name with two fugitive businessmen, remarking how the “thieves” shared the same last name.
The court had granted him bail for 30 days to appeal the verdict. A day later, he was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha.
Rahul Gandhi reached Surat today via a scheduled commercial flight along with sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to appeal against the lower court ruling.
If the sessions court does not reverse the conviction, Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as an MP will stand and he will be barred from contesting elections for eight years.
