Court Pauses Rahul Gandhi’s 2-Year Sentence In Defamation Cases

India: The hearing in the case challenging Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in the 2019 defamation case will next be held on May 3 at the Surat District and Sessions Court, which on Monday extended his bail till April 13. After the Surat court’s verdict, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as MP from Lok Sabha.

The former Congress president, sources say, requested for an interim stay on the conviction which would also restore his Lok Sabha membership.

Rahul Gandhi was accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Chief Ministers of three Congress-ruled states – Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Baghel and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu – are also in Gujarat for Mr Gandhi’s “moral support”.

The BJP called Mr Gandhi’s visit to Surat with his sister and some party leaders as “a childish attempt” to pressurise the judiciary.