Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Defamation perils: on the Rahul Gandhi case

Defamation perils: on the Rahul Gandhi case

A dodgy case is being used to keep Rahul Gandhi disqualified

A striking feature (विशेषता, गुण) of the Surat district court’s order declining to stay (रोकना, ठहरना) the conviction (दोषसिद्धि) of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is its unusual emphasis (ज़ोर, महत्व) on his status as a Member of Parliament to justify his conviction and quantum (मात्रा) of punishment. It is quite evident from a reading of 8th Additional Sessions Judge Robin P. Mogera’s order that the court deems (consider, regard as, see, view) an offence (अपराध) to be worse if done by a legislator (विधायक), that its impact on society is more deleterious (हानिकारक) than when it is committed by any other citizen, and that a harsher sentence than normally imposed is justified against a lawmaker. Yet, Mr. Gandhi’s status as a parliamentarian matters little when it comes to the question whether his conviction ought to (करना चाहिए) be stayed. His two-year prison term, awarded by a magistrate (न्यायाधीश, दण्डदायक) court in Surat for allegedly (अभिकथित रूप से) defaming the collective of people who have ‘Modi’ as their surname, has led to his disqualification from his membership of the Lok Sabha. While his sentence has been suspended till disposal (removal, scrapping, discarding) of his appeal (अपील, याचिका) against his conviction, only a stay (it is defined as the act of temporarily stopping or postponing any judicial proceeding through the court or legal authorities in India, in order to secure the rights of a citizen) on the operation of his conviction could have restored his membership of the House. Judge Mogera has ruled that Mr. Gandhi failed to demonstrate that he will suffer irreversible and irrevocable damage if his conviction, which has also deprived (divest, strip, dispossess of (power/rights)) him of the opportunity to contest elections, is not stayed. Selectively quoting from Supreme Court judgments, the judge has held that disqualification for being a legislator cannot be described as irreversible damage.

The order suffers from infirmities (weakness, feebleness, impairment; unsteadiness, hesitation, instability) in reasoning and does not always adhere to (abide by, stick to, hold to, comply with, act in accordance with, conform to) precedents (a past action/event/decision that is seen as an example; previous example, previous instance, prior instance, previous case, example) that do not prohibit treating disqualification from electoral contest as an exceptional circumstance (existing conditions, state of affairs, situations) warranting (justify, validate, uphold, endorse, call for) stay of conviction. The order holds ((of court/judge) decide, rule) that the complainant (litigator, appellant, claimant, plaintiff), being a former Minister, would have suffered harm to his reputation by Mr. Gandhi’s remark. However, it fails to see that a conviction for defamation is itself quite rare, and a two-year punishment rarer. The judge justifies the maximum sentence by claiming that the words of a sitting Member of Parliament will have a larger impact on the public and that the sentence is “permissible (allowed, acceptable, legal) in law”. Criminal defamation is itself a questionable concept, as it can be invoked (cite, refer to, adduce, use, put into effect, turn to, resort to) to silence (cmuffle, suppress, repress, stop) criticism and harass (annoy, bother, afflict, torment, trouble) opponents. It is inconceivable (unthinkable, unimaginable, extremely implausible) that political remarks made in an election campaign (canvassing, electioneering, an act of soliciting (asking for/requesting) votes; an organized effort that seeks to influence the decision-making progress within a specific group) are used to secure a conviction for defamation and a jail term that precisely matches with the legal requirement to disqualify a person. Mr. Gandhi has further legal remedies (solution, answer, antidote/panacea), such as an appeal in the High Court, but it is lamentable (unfortunate, distressing, grievous, appalling, objectionable, censurable, lamentable, unjustifiable, discreditable, disgusting) that in a democracy, a dodgy defamation case can be stretched (extend) to such absurd (irrational, pointless, unreasonable, illogical) levels as to deprive the parliamentary opposition of a key figure ((important) person, representative, personality).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.defamation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मानहानि
English Meaning - it is defined as spoken or written words or visible representations, concerning any person intended to harm his/her reputation; character assassination, libel, misrepresentation, vilification, backbiting, abuse, scandalmongering, malicious gossip.

2.peril (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संकट
English Meaning - danger, jeopardy, risk, difficulty.

3.feature (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विशेषता, गुण
English Meaning - quality, attribute, factor, point, aspect.

4.stay (verb)

Hindi Meaning - रोकना, ठहरना
English Meaning - stop, delay, or prevent something temporarily (a judicial proceeding/trial through the order of a court).

5.conviction (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दोषसिद्धि
English Meaning - sentence, judgement, verdict.

6.emphasis (noun)

Hindi Meaning - ज़ोर, महत्व
English Meaning - importance, significance; priority, insistence.

7.quantum (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मात्रा
English Meaning - measure, amount, portion.

8.Sessions Court (noun)

Hindi Meaning - सत्र न्यायालय
English Meaning - In India, the apex court within the district dealing with criminal cases is named as “sessions court” as per the Code Of Criminal Procedure (CrPc). While the court dealing with civil cases as per the Code Of Civil Procedure is called “district court”.

9.offence (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अपराध
English Meaning - crime, illegal act, breach of the law, violation of the law, wrongdoing, act of misconduct, misdeed.

10.legislator (noun)

Hindi Meaning - विधायक
English Meaning - a member of a legislature (parliament/legislative assembly); lawmaker, representative.

11.deleterious (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - हानिकारक
English Meaning - harmful, damaging, adverse, disadvantageous, unfavourable, unfortunate, undesirable.

12.ought to (modal verb)

Hindi Meaning - करना चाहिए
English Meaning - must, should.

13.magistrate (noun)

Hindi Meaning - न्यायाधीश, दण्डदायक
English Meaning - the judicial officers or civil officers of a state who handle minor legal cases in a specific area like town, district etc.

14.allegedly (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अभिकथित रूप से
English Meaning - supposedly, seemingly, apparently, it appears/seems that.

15.appeal (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अपील, याचिका
English Meaning - plea, petition, request.

16.peril (verb)

English Meaning - threaten.

17.dodgy (adjective)

English Meaning - dishonest, deceitful, unreliable, unfaithful, dubious, suspicious.

18.striking (adjective)

English Meaning - noticeable, obvious, conspicuous, evident, salient, visible, distinct, clear-cut, notable.

19.stay (order) (noun)

English Meaning - it is defined as the act of temporarily stopping or postponing any judicial proceeding through the court or legal authorities in India, in order to secure the rights of a citizen.

20.deem (verb)

English Meaning - consider, regard as, see, view.

21.defame (verb)

English Meaning - libel, slander, insult, tarnish, back-bite, disparage, denigrate, discredit, slur.

22.led to past participle of lead to (verb)

English Meaning - cause, result in, bring on, bring about, give rise to.

23.disposal (noun)

English Meaning - removal, scrapping, discarding.

24.irreversible (adjective)

English Meaning - unchangeable, irrevocable.

25.deprive of (verb)

English Meaning - divest, strip, dispossess of (power/rights).

26.hold (verb)

English Meaning - (of court/judge) decide, rule.

27.infirmity (noun)

English Meaning - weakness, feebleness, impairment; unsteadiness, hesitation, instability.

28.adhere to (verb)

English Meaning - abide by, stick to, hold to, comply with, act in accordance with, conform to.

29.precedent (noun)

English Meaning - a past action/event/decision that is seen as an example; previous example, previous instance, prior instance, previous case, example.

30.circumstances (noun)

English Meaning - existing conditions, state of affairs, situations.

31.warrant (verb)

English Meaning - justify, validate, uphold, endorse, call for.

32.complainant (noun)

English Meaning - litigator, appellant, claimant, plaintiff.

33.rarer comparative adjective of rare (adjective)

English Meaning - unusual, uncommon, atypical.

34.permissible (adjective)

English Meaning - allowed, acceptable, legal.

35.invoke (verb)

English Meaning - cite, refer to, adduce, use, put into effect, turn to, resort to.

36.silence (noun)

English Meaning - cmuffle, suppress, repress, stop.

37.harass (verb)

English Meaning - annoy, bother, afflict, torment, trouble.

38.inconceivable (adjective)

English Meaning - unthinkable, unimaginable, extremely implausible.

39.campaign (noun)

English Meaning - canvassing, electioneering, an act of soliciting (asking for/requesting) votes; an organized effort that seeks to influence the decision-making progress within a specific group.

40.remedy (noun)

English Meaning - solution, answer, antidote/panacea.

41.lamentable (adjective)

English Meaning - unfortunate, distressing, grievous, appalling, objectionable, censurable, lamentable, unjustifiable, discreditable, disgusting.

42.stretch (verb)

English Meaning - extend.

43.absurd (adjective)

English Meaning - irrational, pointless, unreasonable, illogical.

44.figure (noun)

English Meaning - (important) person, representative, personality.