A court in Surat, Gujarat, on Thursday rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s plea for stay on conviction in a defamation case that saw him being disqualified as Lok Sabha MP. His lawyer Kirit Panwala said the order will be challenged in the Gujarat High Court. 

While rejecting Gandhi’s plea, Additional Sessions Judge R P Mogera said, “It is not a disputed fact that the appellant was the Member of Parliament and head of the second largest political party, and looking at such stature of appellant, he should have been more careful with his words, which would have a large impact on the mind of people.”