Parliament must consider a buffer period for appeals in cases of instant disqualification of MPs
A criminal court in Surat, Gujarat, sentenced Rahul Gandhi, member of Parliament (MP) from Wayanad and former president of the Congress party, to two years’ imprisonment and a fine for a speech he made at an election rally in Kolar, Karnataka, in April 2019.
The judgment is untenable on several legal grounds, including lack of territorial jurisdiction and a well-settled principle of law that a vague, unidentifiable class of persons — like those with a certain surname — can’t be defamed.
The judgment is untenable on several legal grounds, including lack of territorial jurisdiction and a well-settled principle of law that a vague, unidentifiable class of persons — like those with a certain surname — can’t be defamed.