Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was on Monday reinstated as the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad.

The decision comes three days after the Supreme Court had stayed Gandhi’s conviction in a criminal defamation case for a speech he had made ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in which he asked why many thieves had the surname Modi.

Gandhi was disqualified as an MP on March 24, a day after a Gujarat court held him guilty in the case.

The court had awarded Gandhi the maximum punishment of two years in the case, which led to his immediate disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP. The decision was upheld by the Gujarat High Court.

Under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a legislator sentenced to jail for two years or more stands to be disqualified from the date of conviction till six years after serving time.

On Monday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that decision to reinstate Gandhi was a welcome step.

“It brings relief to the people of India, and especially to Wayanad,” Kharge said. “Whatever time is left of their tenure, BJP and Modi government should utilise that by concentrating on actual governance rather than denigrating Democracy by targeting opposition leaders.”

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that Gandhi getting back his Parliament membership had increased his faith in the judiciary and democracy, PTI reported.

On July 4, Gandhi had said that the Supreme Court’s decision to stay his conviction in a defamation case was a victory of truth.

“This had to happen as the truth emerges victorious one day or the other,” Gandhi had said at a press conference. “My future course of action is clear in my mind and I thank the people of India for showing such love and support towards me.”

On Monday, Gandhi attended the Lok Sabha proceedings before the House was adjourned, reported PTI. Earlier, the Congress leader paid his tributes to the statue of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in the Parliament complex.

The SC judgement

On Friday, a Supreme Court bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and PV Sanjay Kumar said that the trial court did not give any specific reasons for imposing the maximum punishment – two years of imprisonment – in the defamation case against Gandhi.

“Particularly when the offence was non-compoundable, bailable and cognizable, the least which was expected from the learned trial judge was to give reasons for imposing the maximum punishment,” the court observed.

The bench also said that had the sentence given to Gandhi been even a day lesser, then he would not be disqualified from the Lok Sabha.

The court also noted that the ramifications of the lower court’s ruling were wide and adversely affected the rights of the people of Wayanad, the constituency Gandhi represents in the Lok Sabha.

The Supreme Court, however, said that Gandhi’s remarks were not in “good taste” and that a person in public life ought to have been more careful while giving speeches.