India\u2019s top court on Friday suspended the defamation conviction of Rahul Gandhi, a decision that could pave the way for the senior opposition politician to return to parliament after his disqualification. Gandhi, 53, was sentenced to two years\u2019 imprisonment in March in a case that critics have said showed threats to the rule of law in the world\u2019s largest democracy. He was turfed out of the legislature as a result but has stayed out of jail while appealing the case up to the supreme court in New Delhi. A justice there said that the initial trial judge had failed to justify imposing the maximum sentence on Gandhi for his comments, made during a campaign rally four years ago. \u201cThe order of conviction needs to be stayed pending final adjudication,\u201d Justice B.R. Gavai said in his ruling. Gandhi is the leading face of the opposition Congress party, once the dominant force of Indian politics. He is also the scion of India\u2019s premier political dynasty and the son, grandson and great-grandson of former prime ministers, beginning with independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru. But Congress has for years been repeatedly crushed in elections by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its nationalist appeals to India\u2019s Hindu majority. The conviction stemmed from a remark made during the 2019 election campaign when Gandhi had asked why \u201call thieves have Modi as (their) common surname\u201d. His comments were portrayed as a slur against the prime minister and against all those with the same surname, which is associated with the lower rungs of India\u2019s caste hierarchy. Anyone sentenced to a custodial term of two years or more is ineligible to sit in India\u2019s parliament, forcing Gandhi\u2019s expulsion from the body in March. Gandhi\u2019s 731-page submission to the Supreme Court said his speech was made \u201cin the course of democratic political activity\u201d. His sentence was \u201cgravely detrimental to democratic free speech\u201d, added the document, which his party provided to AFP. The case \u2014 one of several lodged against Gandhi in recent years \u2014 had until Friday only been heard by courts in Gujarat, Modi\u2019s home state. Legal action has been widely deployed against opposition party figures and institutions seen as critical of the Modi government during its nine years in power. Domestic and international media have also come under growing pressure. In February, tax inspectors raided the local offices of Britain\u2019s BBC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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