On Friday, the Supreme Court fined a Lucknow-based lawyer ₹1 1,000 for opposing the reinstatement of Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha.
The petition was deemed pointless and an unnecessary use of court time by a bench consisting of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta.
Attorney Ashok Pandey contested Rahul Gandhi’s reinstatement in the Lok Sabha. Rahul Gandhi was removed from office following a court order that he serve two years in prison for making a defamatory statement about the “Modi surname.” Rahul Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison, meaning that the Representation of People Act would not allow him to serve as an MP from Wayanad in Kerala. Subsequently, the Supreme Court overturned his conviction, and he was allowed to rejoin the Lok Sabha.
In an attempt to have the Lok Sabha’s announcement annulled and reinstate Rahul Gandhi as a member, Ashok Pandey filed a petition with the highest court.
The top court last year rejected Ashok Pandey’s appeal and fined him ₹1 lakh for contesting the reinstatement of Nationalist Congress Party Leader Mohammed Faizal as a member of the Lok Sabha.
Ashok Pandey had contested Rahul Gandhi’s reinstatement, claiming that the Speaker of the Lok Sabha had erred in granting him back his lost membership after he had lost it due to being found guilty of criminal defamation and receiving a two-year prison sentence.
The argument stated that a member of Parliament or a state legislature shall remain ineligible for office until they are cleared of all charges by a higher court, as stipulated by Article 102, 191 of the Constitution and Section 8(3) of the Representation of People Act 1951.
“Rahul Gandhi lost his membership of Lok Sabha when he was convicted for defamation and was awarded a two-year sentence and as such, the Speaker was not right is restoring back his membership,” the motion had claimed.
On July 7, 2023, the Gujarat High Court upheld the ruling of a Gujarat Sessions court, which had declined to revoke a magisterial court judgement from March 23 that found Rahul Gandhi guilty of criminal defamation and imposed the worst penalty allowed by the Indian Penal Code.
The High Court dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s appeal, stating that he was requesting a stay of his conviction on “absolutely non-existent grounds” and that a stay of judgement is an exception rather than the norm.
Rahul Gandhi was found guilty in March 2023 by the magisterial court for his comments on the “Modi” surname made prior to the 2019 national elections.
Rahul Gandhi went to the Sessions court after the magistrate court found him guilty, but on April 20, the court denied his request for a stay of his sentence. He then made an application to the High Court. Later, he requested redress from the Supreme Court.
In an action brought by Purnesh Modi, the Congress politician was found guilty of defamation under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and given a two-year prison term on March 23.
