‘Rahul Gandhi faced irreparable loss and irreversible injury,' says his lawyer in Surat court

On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi's lawyer claimed that the Congress leader had suffered "irreparable loss and irreversible injury" due to his conviction in the criminal defamation case involving his remark about the Modi surname. A Surat court is hearing Gandhi's request for a stay on his conviction in the case.

Over Rahul Gandhi's remark from 2019 when he said, "Why do all thieves have Modi in their names?" He was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail. While campaigning in Karnataka's Kolar ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he had made this remark against Modi.

Senior Advocate RS Cheema is representing the Congress leader, and Judge Robin Mogera is hearing Rahul Gandhi's plea. While RS Cheema presented Gandhi’s case in court, he said Rahul Gandhi faced "irreparable loss and irreversible injury.”

Gandhi's lawyer said that because of his conviction, he lost his constituency and was no longer qualified to serve as an MP in the Lok Sabha. He requested that Gandhi's conviction be overturned, saying Supreme Court judgments allow convictions to be stayed when there are exceptional circumstances.

Cheema further said that in deciding whether the conviction should stay, the court has to consider the "facts and merits of the case". He further argued that the case does not involve a "severe sentence" like life imprisonment or death sentence where the court will not consider the stay on the conviction.

He told the court that Rahul Gandhi did not get a fair trial, and it should be considered whether he intentionally gave his speech to defame anyone. He argued that Gandhi's entire speech was not submitted in court, and the complainant had said he read about the speech in newspapers.

Cheema also shared in the court that Rahul Gandhi's entire speech in Kolar can be accessed on YouTube.

In April 2019, a BJP MLA from Gujarat filed a criminal defamation complaint against Rahul Gandhi.

Watch: Heatwave in India: Delhi, West Bengal govt go on alert mode! Check latest advisories for school students