Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi sentenced to two years in prison for defamation.
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been sentenced to two years in prison in a criminal defamation case in Gujarat state. The Congress MP was convicted for making comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname at an election rally in 2019. Speaking at a rally in Karnataka state in April 2019, Mr Gandhi had said: "Why do all these thieves have Modi as their surname? Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi."
Nirav Modi is a fugitive Indian diamond tycoon while Lalit Modi is a former chief of the Indian Premier League who has been banned for life by the country's cricket board. Mr Gandhi argues that he made the comment to highlight corruption and it was not directed against any community.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says due judicial process has been followed in the case, which dates back to the campaign ahead of the last election. But some experts were puzzled by the order handed down by the court in Surat.
Legal scholar Gautam Bhatia tweeted that "references to a generic class of persons" - surnames in this case - are not "actionable unless an individual can show a direct reference to themselves".
Defamation, by itself, cannot be a ground for disqualification in India. An MP can be disqualified from the office for offences ranging from promoting enmity, and election-related fraud. But they can also be disqualified if sentenced for two years or more for an offence. A two-year jail term would mean Mr Gandhi would not be able to contest the 2024 general election.
The Congress party said he was being targeted for exposing the government's "dark deeds". Elections are due next year. A Congress spokesman said the ruling was full of "legally unsustainable conclusions" - and vowed its politicians would not be silenced.
"Make no mistake. All your attempts to create a chilling effect, a throttling effect, a strangulating effect on open fearless speech relating to public influence will not stop either Rahul Gandhi or the Congress Party," Abhishek Manu Singhvi told a news conference.
The Aam Admi Party (AAP), which rules Delhi, has two senior members currently in jail on charges it says are politically motivated. Its leader voiced support for Mr Gandhi.
"We have differences with the Congress, but it is not right to implicate Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case like this," Arvind Kejriwal tweeted. "It is the job of the public and the opposition to ask questions."
India's criminal defamation law is British-era legislation under which there can be a maximum prison sentence of two years, a fine or both. Free speech advocates have often argued the law goes against the principles of freedom and that it is used by politicians to silence their critics.
In 2016, some top Indian politicians including Mr Gandhi filed legal pleas arguing for defamation to be decriminalised. But India's Supreme Court upheld the validity of the law, saying the "right to free speech cannot mean that a citizen can defame the other".
No comments:
Post a Comment