India’s top court stays conviction of opposition leader for mocking the prime minister's surname
India’s top court has stayed the conviction of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi for criminal defamation for mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname
By AP News
Published - Aug 04, 2023, 04:40 AM ET
Last Updated - Aug 04, 2023, 04:40 AM EDT
NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court on Friday stayed the criminal defamation conviction of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi for mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname — a conviction that disqualified him from being a member of parliament.
A fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his main challenger in 2024 polls, Gandhi was ousted from Parliament after his conviction by a magistrate’s court in March.
Congress party spokesman Ajoy Kumar welcomed the Supreme Court order.
The defamation case involved comments Gandhi made in a 2019 election speech that were deemed to be insulting to Modi’s surname. He was sentenced to two years in prison by a magistrate’s court but the courts suspended his prison sentence in April.
