Surat court dismisses Rahul Gandhi's plea for stay on conviction: What next for him

NEW DELHI: A Surat court on Thursday rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea for stay on conviction in the 2019 defamation case over his 'Modi surname' remark.
Rahul was sentenced to two years in jail in the defamation case. Following his conviction, the former Congress president was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member.
A stay on conviction by the sessions court could have paved the way for Rahul Gandhi's reinstatement as an MP.
BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi had filed a criminal defamation case against Rahul in 2019 over his remark at an election rally in Karnataka: "How come all thieves have the Modi surname?" Purnesh claimed that the reference had defamed the entire Modi community.
What next for Rahul Gandhi?
With the Surat court uphelding 2-year jail sentence for Rahul, the challenge before him is to convince a higher court to quash his conviction in the criminal defamation case.
The sessions court's order will be challenged in Gujarat high court. Rahul's lawyer Kirit Panwala said the sessions court has set May 20 as the date to begin hearing on his appeal against the lower court's March 23 order.
Soon after the Surat court rejected Rahul Gandhi's plea, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the party will continue to avail all options still available under the law.
Disqualification of an MP can be reversed if a higher court grants a stay on the conviction or decides the appeal in favour of the convicted lawmaker. Even if the conviction is not quashed but the sentence reduced to less than 2 years, Rahul will manage to get his disqualification reversed.