Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s appeal against the order of the Surat sessions court denying a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case will now be heard by a new judge of the Gujarat High Court on April 29.

According to the cause list published by the High Court, Justice Hemant Prachchhak will hear the matter on Saturday, April 29th.

Earlier, when Gandhi’s lawyer mentioned the case before Justice Gita Gopi, on April 26th, she recused herself from the hearing.

On 23 March, a metropolitan magistrate’s court in Surat had sentenced Gandhi to two years in jail under Indian Penal Code sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) in a 2019 case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Gujarat MLA Purnesh Modi. Following the verdict, Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament (MP) under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act. Gandhi challenged the order in a sessions court in Surat, but the court refused to stay the conviction, however, granted him bail. A stay on the conviction could lead to Gandhi’s reinstatement as an MP. DeshGujarat