New Delhi, Jul 12 (IANS): Purnesh Modi, a BJP MLA and the complainant in the defamation case against Rahul Gandhi, has submitted a caveat in the Supreme Court requesting for a chance to present his case if the Congress leader challenges the recent Gujarat High Court verdict that denied a stay on his conviction in the 2019 case.

After a single judge bench of the Gujarat High Court rejected Gandhi's plea for a stay on his conviction in the defamation case on July 7, Purnesh Modi, through his lawyer P. S. Sudheer promptly filed the caveat in the Supreme Court the same day.

A caveat serves as a notice submitted to an appellate court by a litigant who wishes to be heard in case any orders are issued regarding an opponent's appeal that challenges the decision or judgment made by the lower court.

On July 7, the Gujarat High Court rejected the plea of the Congress leader to suspend his conviction and two-year imprisonment in a criminal defamation case, resulting in the loss of his parliamentary membership.

Justice Hemant Prachchhak had upheld the ruling of a Gujarat sessions court, which had declined to stay a magisterial court's verdict on March 23 that found the Congress leader guilty and imposed the highest penalty allowed for criminal defamation under the India Penal Code.

While announcing the decision, the judge noted that Gandhi has a minimum of eight other criminal cases pending against him.