Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Dangerously fanciful: On the judiciary, Rahul Gandhi’s conviction and the defamation case

Dangerously fanciful: On the judiciary, Rahul Gandhi’s conviction and the defamation case

The High Court has made defamation sound like a horrific (भयंकर) crime

The Gujarat High Court order declining to stay the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation (मानहानि) case is quite unreasonable and borders on the fanciful (काल्पनिक). Justice Hemant M. Prachchhak becomes the third judicial authority in Gujarat to rule that Mr. Gandhi, in using the words “Why do all these thieves have Modi as a surname?” in an election campaign speech in 2019, had committed defamation against a large number of people and that it was a “serious offence”. The purported seriousness of the offence has been cited to justify the award of a two-year jail term, the maximum punishment for defamation. While the remark is unlikely to have troubled or caused any reputational harm to any reasonable person, the trial magistrate, a civil court hearing an appeal against conviction, and now, the High Court, have unanimously (सर्वसम्मति से) concluded that the offence is grave, amounting to moral turpitude (अधमता). The High Court has agreed with the first appellate court that Mr. Gandhi does not deserve the benefit of stay of conviction, an order that would help overcome his disqualification from the Lok Sabha. It has enthusiastically (उत्साहपूर्वक) endorsed the conclusion that the offence is grave because it was committed by a Member of Parliament and leader of a party that had ruled the country for decades and that it was a speech that contained a false statement made with intent (इरादा, प्रयोजन) to affect the outcome of an election.

The court has controversially ruled that the statement has defamed a determinable (निर्धार्य, अवधार्य) group of people, referring to those with the surname ‘Modi’. It has thus rejected the key argument that 13 crore people with the surname could not have been aggrieved by that sentence. How the court concluded that a large number of people were aggrieved is not clear when no one except the complainant has claimed harm to reputation. It is disconcerting (चिंताजनक) that court after court has endorsed a punishment tailored specifically to disqualify a Member of Parliament. The High Court has also ignored the argument that a legislator cannot be pushed out of the House and barred (बाधित) from electoral contest for an offence that was neither serious nor involved moral turpitude. Instead, it has made a fanciful claim that the law’s object is to maintain purity in politics and cited the pendency (लंबमानता) of other cases against Mr. Gandhi to decline to stay the conviction. It has even referred to a complaint by V.D. Savarkar’s grandson against Mr. Gandhi, as though a political remark could add another layer of gravity to the offence. The extent to which a judicial order can go to make a defamation case sound like a horrific crime against society at large is quite astounding (चकित करनेवाला).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Fanciful (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - काल्पनिक
English Meaning - Not likely to succeed or happen in the real world.

2.Defamation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - मानहानि
English Meaning - The act of communicating false statements about a person that injure the reputation of that person.

3.Horrific (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - भयंकर
English Meaning - Causing horror.

4.Unanimously (Adverb)

Hindi Meaning - सर्वसम्मति से
English Meaning - Without opposition; with the agreement of all people involved.

5.Turpitude (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - अधमता
English Meaning - Depraved or wicked behaviour or character.

6.Enthusiastically (Adverb)

Hindi Meaning - उत्साहपूर्वक
English Meaning - In a way that shows intense and eager enjoyment, interest, or approval.

7.Intent (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - इरादा, प्रयोजन
English Meaning - Intention or purpose.

8.Determinable (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - निर्धार्य, अवधार्य
English Meaning - Capable of being determined, definitely ascertained, or decided upon.

9.Disconcerting  (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - चिंताजनक
English Meaning - Causing one to feel unsettled.

10.Barred (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - बाधित
English Meaning - Is to be blocked from entrance or not allowed to do something.

11.Pendency (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - लंबमानता
English Meaning - The state of being pending.

12.Astounding (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - चकित करनेवाला
English Meaning - Surprisingly impressive or notable.