Indian lawmaker and major opposition party leader Rahul Gandhi has been granted bail in his defamation case, with the next court session scheduled for April 13, Indian media said Monday
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd April, 2023) Indian lawmaker and major opposition party leader Rahul Gandhi has been granted bail in his defamation case, with the next court session scheduled for April 13, Indian media said Monday.
The former president of the Indian National Congress party will have his two-year jail sentence suspended until a decision on his appeal challenging the conviction is taken, NDTV reported. Gandhi called his appeal a "fight to save democracy" on Twitter after receiving the court order, according to the report.
In March 2023, Gandhi was convicted and sentenced to two years' imprisonment by a court in Surat, Gujarat province, under charges of defamation related to remarks he had made against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 2019 Indian general election campaign.
The investigation against Gandhi was launched by Purnesh Modi, a member of the Indian Legislative Assembly from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. He stated that Gandhi had defamed all people bearing the Modi family name when he had asked "Why do all these thieves have the name Modi?" during a speech comparing Narendra Modi with notorious economic offenders Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.
If Gandhi's conviction is not reversed, his disqualification as a member of parliament will stand and he will be banned from participating in elections for eight years, NDTV reported.
The conviction was followed by protests by Indian National Congress party supporters in New Delhi as well as in other major Indian cities.
