India’s supreme court has suspended Rahul Gandhi’s two-year prison sentence for defamation, paving the way for him to return as an MP and to run in next year’s general election.
Gandhi, the leading face of India’s opposition Congress party, was given a two-year jail sentence for defamation in March, in a case he alleged was politically motivated.
The case had been brought by a lawmaker from the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) over comments Gandhi had made that were deemed to be insulting to the prime minister, Narendra Modi, and every other person in India with the surname Modi.
A judge at a lower court in the prime minister’s home state of Gujarat found Gandhi guilty of defamation and gave him the maximum sentence of two years: the exact period needed to result in his disqualification as an MP and to ban him from running in the general election expected to be held in April and May 2024.
Gandhi vowed to appeal and took the case to the Gujarat high court, but it refused to stay his conviction, saying there were “nonexistent grounds” for an appeal and citing the need for “purity” to remain in politics.
However, on Friday Gandhi was granted relief by the supreme court, which had agreed to hear his appeal. In a preliminary ruling, a bench of three judges said no reason had been given by the judge for giving Gandhi the maximum punishment.
While Gandhi’s comments were “not in good taste” and he “ought to have been more careful while making public speeches”, the conviction not only punished Gandhi but also voters who had elected him to represent their constituency, said Justice BR Gavai, who headed the bench of three judges that suspended the conviction.
The supreme court verdict means Gandhi should now be reinstated as an MP in the lower house of parliament. The reinstatement is likely to provide a boost to Congress, which last month joined forces with more than 20 other opposition parties in a political coalition called INDIA, to collectively take on the Modi government in the general election.
“This is a win for the people of India, the constitution and democracy,” said the Congress party president, Mallikarjun Kharge, who described the case against Gandhi as the “BJP’s conspiratorial hounding”.
Speaking to the media after the ruling, Gandhi said “truth always prevails” and that his “future course of action is clear in my mind”.
The court case and conviction of Gandhi had been seen by critics as an escalation of attacks on the political opposition under the BJP government. Politicians from opposition parties have faced numerous investigations by government agencies and many leaders have been put behind bars.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the leader of Congress in the lower house of parliament, said he had met the speaker of the house on Friday afternoon, seeking Gandhi’s immediate reinstatement, and that Gandhi hoped to return to parliament as soon as Monday.
“Rahul Gandhi has got relief from the false allegations that were made against him,” Chowdhury told reporters. “This is the victory of truth … it will cost Modi heavily.”
Chowdhury said Gandhi hoped to be reinstated in time for a parliamentary vote of no confidence that the opposition has tabled against Modi next week over the government’s handling of the outbreak of ethnic violence in the north-eastern state of Manipur, which has killed more than 140 people.
Though the opposition has no hope of winning the vote in parliament, where the BJP commands an overwhelming majority, it is intended to force Modi to speak on the situation in Manipur, a politically sensitive matter he has avoided discussing publicly.
Purnesh Modi, the BJP legislator who brought the defamation case against Gandhi, said: “We welcome the judgment, and will fight the legal battle in the sessions court.”