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New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s belongings have been removed from his official bungalow on Friday after he was convicted in a defamation case and his membership in Parliament was revoked. According to sources, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will hand over the key of his government bungalow 12 Tughlaq Road to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
Let it be known that on April 14, the office of the former Congress president was shifted to the government residence. He was living at 12 Tughlaq Road for two decades. Rahul Gandhi will now live in his mother Sonia Gandhi’s residence at 10 Janpath.
On March 23, the Surat court sentenced him to two years
Let us tell you that on March 23, the Surat Magistrate’s Court had convicted Rahul Gandhi in a criminal defamation case filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi and sentenced him to two years in prison. A day later he was disqualified from membership of the Lok Sabha. After this, the Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a notice giving them April 22 to vacate the government residence.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was also asked to vacate her Lodhi Estate bungalow after SPG security was withdrawn a few years ago. During the last Lok Sabha elections, Rahul had said in the Jansabha of Karnataka that all thieves are called Modi hota hai?
Earlier, the Surat sessions court on Thursday rejected Rahul Gandhi’s plea seeking a stay on his conviction over the ‘Modi epithet’ statement. Additional Sessions Judge RP Mogera’s court rejected Rahul’s plea to stay the conviction in the criminal defamation case. If the conviction was stayed, it could have paved the way for his Lok Sabha membership to be reinstated.
Rahul’s lawyer Kirit Panwala said that Sessions would challenge the court’s order in the Gujarat High Court. The sessions court has fixed May 20 for hearing his appeal against the lower court, 23 March order. Purnesh Modi’s lawyer said the court considered all aspects before rejecting Rahul’s plea.
The power conferred under Section 389 (1) of CrPC to suspend/stay conviction needs to be exercised ‘with caution’, as stated by the Supreme Court in several judgments. If such a power is exercised in a casual and mechanical manner, it will have a serious impact on public perception of the justice system.
