Congress leader Rahul Gandhi moves SC in 'Modi surname' defamation case

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on July 15 approached Supreme Court (SC) to overturn the Gujarat High Court's decision to uphold his conviction in the criminal defamation case over his 'Modi surname' remark.

The conviction in the case led to his disqualification as Lok Sabha MP.

The development comes after Gandhi's attempt to reinstate his Lok Sabha membership suffered a setback on July 14 when the Gujarat high court refused to vacate his conviction in the criminal defamation case.

''The present conviction is a serious matter affecting a large segment of society and needs to be viewed by this court with the gravity and significance it commands. It is now the need of the hour to have purity in politics," Justice Hemant P Prachchhak had said rejecting Gandhi’s criminal revision application seeking a stay on his conviction.

It is worth mentioning that the criminal defamation case against the Congress leader was filed by Gujarat state's legislator Purnesh Modi alleging that his remark had defamed the entire Modi community.