ASANSOL: Welcoming the Supreme Court's stay order on the conviction of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 'Modi' surname case, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday said that people's faith in the judicial system has been restored once again after the verdict. According to Sinha, the verdict is a victory for the I.N.D.I.A. alliance.

"After Supreme Court's verdict, people's faith in the judicial system has been restored once again. This is a victory for the I.N.D.I.A. alliance, TMC, Mamata Banerjee and all the members of the Opposition. The coming few days will be full of drama in the Parliament," said TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha. In a major relief to Rahul, who was elected MP from the Wayanad constituency of Kerala, the Supreme Court, in an interim order on Friday, stayed his conviction in the criminal defamation case of the use of the 'Modi' surname.

The Congress leader made the alleged remark at a campaign event in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Supreme Court's ruling on Friday came on a petition filed by Rahul challenging his conviction and sentencing by a trial court in Surat in the criminal defamation case. The Congress leader had earlier challenged the trial court order at the Gujarat High Court, which upheld the ruling of the lower court.

Apart from being convicted, the Congress leader was also handed a 2-year prison sentence in the case. However, the sentence was set aside to enable him to challenge his conviction and sentencing at a higher court.

Following his conviction, Rahul was stripped of his membership in the Lok Sabha and was also forced to vacate his official bungalow.