Congress Former President Rahul Gandhi is in danger of losing his MP post as he has been sentenced to 2 years in jail.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign, the then president of the party, Rahul Gandhi, addressed the Congress general meeting held in Kolar, Karnataka. At that time, he had said how all the thieves like Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi have the name Modi in common.

This led to controversy as Rahul Gandhi spoke to denigrate all members of the Modi community.

In this regard, the BJP has filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi in the Surat court of Gujarat state. MLA Purnesh Modi prosecuted the case. The investigation of this criminal defamation case was going on for the last 4 years. In this case, Rahul Gandhi appeared in person and gave a statement in October 2021.

Both sides concluded their arguments last week. In this situation, Justice HH Verma had also said that Rahul Gandhi should be present in the court while giving the verdict. Accordingly, Rahul Gandhi visited the court with heavy security. After hearing both the arguments in the case, Justice HH Verma found Rahul Gandhi guilty.

Also, Rahul Gandhi was waiting in the court premises as he said that the details of the punishment will be released today. Security was intensified as Congress workers gathered there. Following this, Judge H.H. Verma read out the sentence and sentenced Rahul Gandhi to 2 years in prison. Rahul Gandhi’s side has appealed for immediate bail, but he has been granted bail.

The Surat court also said that Rahul Gandhi can file an appeal against the verdict within 30 days. Due to this, the sentence has been suspended till then.

Petitioner Purnesh Modi said that he welcomes the Surat court’s decision. Purnesh Modi’s lawyer Ketan Reshamwala said that Rahul Gandhi has been convicted under sections 499 and 500 of the IPC.

In this case, as per Section 8 (3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a Member of Parliament shall lose his office if he is sentenced to two years or more. Based on the Surat court ruling, the Lok Sabha Secretary can declare the Wayanad constituency vacant if the courts do not impose a sentence of more than two years. In case of such notification, the Election Commission will hold by-elections for the Wayanad constituency. And because of the jail sentence, Rahul Gandhi cannot contest elections for the next 8 years.

The Congress plans to appeal the Surat District Court order in the High Court. If the High Court refuses to suspend or cancel the sentence, it has been decided to approach the Supreme Court. A two-year sentence under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code in a criminal defamation case is extremely rare, legal experts said.