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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi refused to apologise over the Modi surname case on Wednesday, reiterating his innocence before the Supreme Court. that he 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.
Gandhi’s affidavit contended that efforts were being made to ‘arm-twist’ him into rendering an apology. The Congress leader told the apex court that ‘using the criminal process and the consequences under Representation of Peoples Act’ to compel an apology was a ‘gross abuse of the judicial process’.
The Congress leader had been convicted in March this year based on a complaint filed by Gujarat BJP MLA Purnesh Ishwarbhai Modi. The latter dubbed Gandhi ‘arrogant’ in a reply filed before the SC on Wednesday – prompting a sharp rebuke from the ousted MP.
“At the time of sentencing before the Trial Court, the Petitioner far from being repentant or contrite, displayed arrogance. He said he did not seek any mercy from the Court and would not apologise for any harm to the reputation of the persons he had defamed. Subsequent to the order of conviction and sentence, in a press conference, the Petitioner said that he would never apologise in this case as he was not a Savarkar, but a Gandhi,” stated the affidavit filed by complaint Purnesh Ishwarbhai Modi.
Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday extended till September 26 the interim relief granted to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from appearance before a local court here in a defamation complaint pertaining to his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018.
The complainant, who claims to be a BJP worker, had alleged that Gandhi’s “commander-in-thief” remark in the context of the Rafale fighter jet deal amounted to defamation.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Updated: 02 Aug 2023, 07:14 PM IST
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