New Delhi: A Surat court today, April 20, dismissed the application filed by Rahul Gandhi in which the he had sought a stay on his conviction in the 2019 criminal defamation case on the 'Modi surname' remark.

The former Wayanad MP must now file an appeal against the Surat court's decision either the Gujarat High Court or Supreme Court.

The Congress leader was granted bail earlier on April 3 by the Surat Sessions Court after he had appealed his conviction in the matter.

The court also sent letters to the state government and the complainant Purnesh Modi regarding the Congress leader's request for a stay of his conviction along with granting bail to the former MP. After hearing from all parties, it set the order for April 20.

In a lawsuit brought by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Purnesh Modi, a lower court in Surat sentenced Rahul Gandhi, a Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad, to two years in prison on March 23 for violating sections 499 and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This resulted in Gandhi's disqualification.

The lawsuit concerned a comment Rahul Gandhi made while speaking at a campaign event in advance of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and using the surname "Modi."

In an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul claimed, "Following his conviction, Rahul was disqualified as an MP on March 24, in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling from 2013," during a rally in Kolar, Karnataka, in April 2019. Any MP or MLA is automatically disqualified under the judgement if they are found guilty and given a term of two years or more.

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