Purnesh Ishvarbhai Modi vs Rahul Gandhi (23/03/2023)
Cause of Action for this case started with the statement of Rahul Gandhi during an Election rally in the year 2019
During an Election rally at Kolar, Karnataka, the senior leader of Indian National Congress party Mr Rahul has commented that " Why do all thieves have Modi as the Common Surname?" Taking offence at the comment, former Gujarat cabinet Minister and BJP leader Purnesh Modi approached a Surat Court with the argument that his comments have defamed the entire Modi community.
Purnesh Modi’s lawyer had said that Gandhi’s speech was defamatory against the Modi community, which is categorised as Other Backward Classes and is considered part of the Teli caste. Responding to these allegations, Gandhi’s lawyer Kirit Panawala argued that the legal proceedings in the cases are flawed from the beginning as the procedure under section 202 of the CrPC was not followed. He further said that since the speech had targeted PM Modi, he should have been the complainant, not Purnesh Modi.
The Court heard the arguments of both sides for years and today held Gandhi guilty in this criminal defamation case under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. Gandhi, whose lawyers immediately filed a bail plea, has been sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. The court granted 30-day bail to Gandhi and suspended his sentence till the time of the appeal period.
There is another trouble for Gandhi to deal with. He could possibly lose his Lok Sabha membership because of this ruling. In a 2013 ruling in the Lily Thomas vs Union of India case, the Supreme Court held that any member of a legislative assembly, legislative council, or Parliament found guilty of a crime and handed a sentence of more than 2 years shall lose their House membership.
What are sections 499 and 500 of the IPC?
Section 499 defines what is defamation whereas section 500 of the IPC lays down the punishment for people convicted of criminally defaming a person. In India defamation is considered both a civil offence and a criminal offence. There have been demands from several quarters to consider defamation as just a civil offence.
IPC Section 499 states that any words spoken, read, or gestured with the intention of harming a person’s reputation is to be considered defamation and attract legal punishments. Section 500 states that a person found guilty of this crime “shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.”
No comments:
Post a Comment