General comment, not defamation: Congress

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 23

The Congress will challenge its leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction by a Surat court in a 2019 defamation case on five points.

Past disqualifications

• Enos Ekka: Jharkhand Party MLA, Kolebira; life term in July 2018 in murder case
• Kamal Kishore Bhagat: AJSU MLA, Lohardaga (Jharkhand); 7-year jail in June 2015 in attempt to murder case
• Suresh Halvankar: BJP MLA, Ichalkaranji (Maharashtra); 3-yr jail in May 2014 for power theft
• TM Selvaganapathy: DMK Rajya Sabha MP from TN; 2-yr jail in April 2014 in graft case
• Babanrao Gholap: Shiv Sena MLA, Deolali (Maharashtra); 3-yr jail in March 2014 in DA case
• Asha Rani: BJP MLA, Bijawar (MP); 10-year jail in Nov 2013 over abetment to suicide
• Rasheed Masood: Cong RS MP from UP; 4-year jail in Oct 2013 in MBBS seats scam

The first pertains to the case complainant, with Gandhi’s lawyer Abhishek Singhvi today saying, “The first principle of the law of defamation is that the complainant should be the person allegedly targeted by the defamatory content. That person has to then establish that the defamation happened. In the Surat case, none of those who appear to have been targeted in the speech have complained.”

The complainant in the Surat case is former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.

Secondly, the Congress said it was well established that malice was an essential ingredient to prove an offence under the law of defamation.

“The very context of Gandhi’s speech in Kolar shows there could not have been any malicious content. A leader was speaking about price rise. A miniscule portion of his speech was taken and read out of context. Also the law of defamation requires a specific defamatory allegation against an individual. A general comment about a group cannot constitute defamation,” argued Singhvi.

Thirdly, Singhvi said it appeared that after the 2019 complaint was filed and “an X magistrate took up the matter, the complainant went to a higher court and got the case proceedings stayed. He revived the proceedings only after a new magistrate came. The same magistrate has delivered today’s orders. We will examine this aspect also”.

Fourthly, the Congress will question a Surat court’s jurisdiction in the matter. “The speech was made at Kolar. An established procedure of law is Section 202 which prevents mischievous prosecution without jurisdiction,” said Singhvi.

Fifthly, the Congress said the sentencing was hurried and should have ideally been done following a separate hearing and arguments, which, he said, “was not done in this case”.

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