Rahul Gandhi Challenges Conviction Ruling in India’s Top Court
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
(Bloomberg) -- Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi approached the country’s top court to challenge the refusal to suspend his defamation conviction, which may bar him from contesting elections next year.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Gandhi filed the appeal with India’s Supreme Court on Saturday after the ruling earlier this month by the Gujarat High Court. The lower court said there was no reasonable ground to suspend the conviction and it would “not in any way result in injustice to the applicant.”
That decision was a major setback for Gandhi, who was sentenced to a two-year jail-term for his alleged derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname during an election rally in 2019. A lower court suspended Gandhi’s prison term until his appeal is decided.
According to Indian law, Gandhi would remain ineligible to contest elections and barred from parliament as long as his conviction remains in force. Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has dismissed allegations that Gandhi’s conviction was politically motivated, saying the law is equal for everyone.
Gandhi has positioned himself as a challenger to Modi and the BJP, with a recent victory in the assembly elections in the key southern state of Karnataka has giving his Congress party a much needed boost.
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
No Testing, No Inspections: Contaminated Eyedrops Blinded and Killed Americans
South Korea’s Archaic Rental System Is Costing People Their Life Savings
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
