The Supreme Court Friday stayed former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in the defamation case, which had led to his disqualification as the sitting Lok Sabha MP and had placed a question mark on his eligibility to contest in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The apex court said that the trial court had not given a reason for imposing the maximum sentence of 2 years imprisonment.
The trial judge has awarded the maximum sentence of two years in the case, the top court observed in its judgement, adding that it would not have attracted disqualification if the sentence was a day lesser.
The apex court bench, comprising Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha, and Sanjay Kumar, heard Gandhi’s plea against the verdict of the Gujarat High Court upholding the Congress leader’s conviction in the defamation case.
