Rahul Gandhi to approach Supreme Court in defamation case, says Abhishek Manu Singhvi

In response to the Gujarat High Court's ruling on the plea to stay the criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi announced that the former Congress President will approach the Supreme Court to challenge the verdict. The Gujarat High Court had stated on Friday, July 7, that Gandhi's request for a stay on his conviction was based on "absolutely non-existent" grounds. The criminal defamation case was filed against Gandhi by Gujarat BJP legislator Purnesh Modi following his remark during an election campaign in Kolar in 2019, where he questioned the prevalence of the surname "Modi" among thieves.

Addressing a press conference shortly after the Gujarat High Court judgment, Singhvi expressed his disappointment with the verdict, but stated that it was not unexpected. He emphasised the uniqueness of the jurisprudence found in the judgment, highlighting its lack of parallel or relevance to the law of defamation in India.

Alleging that the complaint against Rahul Gandhi is motivated, Singhvi said, “The pattern of such complaints show it is motivated. There is a sad reference to a Veer Savarkar issue. How can it be made a major basis of the judgement when the ‘Veer Savarkar complaint’ was after a month of the primary complaint?” 

During the verdict pronouncement, the Gujarat High Court noted that a complaint had been filed against Rahul Gandhi in the Pune Court by the grandson of Veer Savarkar, citing alleged derogatory remarks made by Gandhi against Savarkar while he was at Cambridge.

Expressing faith in the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, Singhvi claimed that this incident represented a systematic weakening of democracy and the stifling of free speech, leading to severe civil and criminal consequences. He stated that they had full faith in the judiciary and would now move forward with their case in the Supreme Court. Singhvi criticised the judgment for failing to address several important issues and the circumstances leading to the initial complaint.