Rahul Gandhi: India's Congress leader sentenced to jail for Modi 'thieves' remark

Indian absorption person Rahul Gandhi has been sentenced to 2 years successful situation successful a transgression defamation case.

Mr Gandhi was convicted by the tribunal successful Gujarat authorities for 2019 comments astir Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname during an predetermination rally.

He volition not spell to jailhouse instantly - helium has been fixed bail for 30 days and tin record an entreaty against his conviction.

The Congress enactment MP was contiguous successful tribunal for sentencing, which comes a twelvemonth earlier wide elections are due.

Speaking astatine an predetermination rally successful Karnataka state successful April 2019, up of the past wide election, Mr Gandhi had said: "Why bash each thieves person Modi arsenic their surname? Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi."

Nirav Modi is simply a fugitive Indian diamond tycoon portion Lalit Modi is simply a erstwhile main of the Indian Premier League who has been banned for beingness by the country's cricket board.

The lawsuit was filed connected the ground of a ailment by Purnesh Modi, a lawmaker from India's governing Bharatiya Janata Party, who said that Mr Gandhi's comments had defamed the full Modi community.

But immoderate person said they are puzzled by the order.

Legal student Gautam Bhatia tweeted that "references to a generic people of persons" - surnames successful this lawsuit - are not "actionable unless an idiosyncratic tin amusement a nonstop notation to themselves".

"If a antheral says 'all lawyers are thieves', past I, arsenic a lawyer, cannot record lawsuit against him for defamation unless I tin amusement its imputation aimed astatine me," Mr Bhatia said.

The Congress enactment tweeted that Mr Gandhi volition record an entreaty and "we volition combat and win".

Mr Gandhi has not commented publically yet but has tweeted a punctuation successful Hindi from Mahatma Gandhi: "My religion is based connected information and non-violence. Truth is my God, and non-violence the means to get it."

His lawyer, Kirit Panwala, told BBC Gujarati that Mr Gandhi had told the justice aft the bid that helium had made the code "in favour of democracy".

He besides said that their defence of Mr Gandhi was based connected 4 points: "Firstly, Mr Gandhi is not a nonmigratory of Gujarat and so, earlier the complaint, an enquiry should beryllium conducted. Secondly, determination is nary assemblage named Modi. Thirdly, determination is nary relation of radical with Modi arsenic their surname and lastly, determination was nary sick volition down Mr Gandhi's speech."

India's transgression defamation instrumentality is simply a British-era authorities nether which determination tin beryllium a maximum situation condemnation of 2 years oregon a good oregon both.

Free code advocates person often argued that the instrumentality goes against the principles of state and that it is is utilized by politicians to soundlessness their critics.

In 2016, immoderate apical Indian politicians including Mr Gandhi had filed ineligible pleas arguing for defamation to beryllium decriminalised. But India's Supreme Court upheld the validity of the law, saying that the "right to escaped code cannot mean that a national tin defame the other".

Additional reporting by Soutik Biswas successful New Delhi