The Supreme Court today refused to entertain the request of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for interim suspension of his conviction in a criminal defamation case. The court was hearing a petition filed by the Congress leader seeking a stay on his conviction in the case which relates to Mr. Gandhi’s Modi surname remark during an election rally in Karnataka in 2019.

The apex court refused the request by senior advocate A.M. Singhvi and advocate Prasanna S appearing for Mr. Gandhi, for an interim suspension of the conviction. A Bench led by Justice BR Gavai said, that cannot be done without hearing the other side first.The top court issued notice to complainant Purnesh Modi and the State of Gujarat in this regard, and listed the case for hearing on 4th of August.