Modi surname row: Will not apologise, would have done it much earlier if I had to, Rahul Gandhi to SC

In a rejoinder affidavit, Gandhi, who was disqualified as MP from Wayanad, said the reply of the complainant uses slanderous terms such as arrogant to describe him only because he has refused to apologise. -- Reports ETV Bharat's Sumit Saxena.

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that he would not tender any apology for his remarks in the Modi surname row, and urged that his conviction should be stayed pending appeal, which would enable him to participate in the ongoing sittings of the Lok Sabha.

In a rejoinder affidavit, Gandhi, who was disqualified as MP from Wayanad, said the reply of the complainant uses slanderous terms such as arrogant to describe him only because he has refused to apologise.

“Using the criminal /process and the consequences under the Representation of Peoples Act to arm-twist the Petitioner into apologising for no fault, is gross abuse of the judicial process and ought not to be countenanced by this court. The Petitioner maintains and has always maintained that he is not guilty of offence and that the conviction is unsustainable and if he had to apologise and compound the offence, he would have done it much earlier," said the rejoinder.

It said that defamation is one of the 22 offences under the Indian Penal Code which attracts simple imprisonment and this itself is an exceptional circumstance for the stay of the conviction. Rahul Gandhi also responded to complainant BJP MLA Purnesh Modi's contention that Modis are an identifiable class of people entitling him to maintain a complaint under Explanation 2 of Section 499 of IPC in as much as he is a part of that class.

Gandhi, in his response, said, "Complainant himself has given inconsistent versions in his statements creating reasonable doubts that if at all people with Modi surname can be identified as a separate, identifiable and a finite class”. Gandhi said the complainant has also admitted that Modi surname falls under various other castes and there is also an admission that Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, and Mehul Choksi all do not fall within the same caste.

Gandhi contended that his case is one of excellent chance of success before the appellate court, an exceptional case considering the offence being a trivial offence, and the irreparable harm that accrues to the petitioner, as an elected MP. The apex court is scheduled to hear the matter on August 4. Gandhi moved the apex court challenging the July 7, Gujarat High Court judgment refusing to put on hold his conviction in the criminal defamation case.