New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Gujarat government and the complainant in response to an appeal filed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. He is challenging the Gujarat High Court's order, which declined to stay his conviction in a criminal defamation case.

In this case, he was sentenced to two years in jail by the Surat court over his 'Modi surname' remark. The Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice BR Gavai, has given ten days for the parties to file their responses through affidavits. The matter is scheduled for hearing on August 4 regarding the stay of his conviction.

During the hearing, Justice Gavai offered to recuse himself from the case, citing his family's association with the Congress party. However, both parties involved in the case expressed no objection to Justice Gavai hearing the matter.

Following his conviction in the case, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament (MP) from Kerala’s Wayanad on March 24, after the Lok Sabha Secretariat's notification. The two-year imprisonment led to his disqualification under the Representation of People Act.

In his appeal to the Supreme Court, Gandhi sought a stay on the Gujarat High Court verdict that upheld his conviction. He argued that the High Court's decision had no precedent in the jurisprudence of defamation law. He also contended that all earlier defamation cases, including the one related to his speech, were filed by members and office bearers of the ruling party, which he found to be noteworthy.

The plea submitted that the surname 'Modi' belonged to various castes in different parts of the country, and the complainant, who shared the same surname, failed to prove any specific or personal damage due to the remark.

Gandhi's plea further argued that the imposition of a maximum sentence of two years in a case of criminal defamation was a rare occurrence. The High Court had previously rejected his plea, stating that the grounds for seeking a stay on his conviction were nonexistent, and a stay on conviction is an exception rather than a rule.

The case originated from Rahul Gandhi's remarks during a rally in Karnataka's Kolar in April 2019, where he made a comment about the 'Modi' surname, seemingly implying a connection between the surname and people involved in corruption. This led to the defamation case filed against him by Purnesh Modi, which resulted in his conviction by the magisterial court, followed by the Sessions court and the Gujarat High Court's affirmation of the conviction.