Rahul Gandhi defamation appeal: Meet the legal team that will fight for the Congress leader in the Surat sessions court

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has moved a sessions court in Surat challenging his conviction by a magistrate court in a criminal defamation case for his "all thieves have Modi surname" remark..The legal team that will represent Gandhi before the sessions court includes Senior Advocate RS Cheema and Advocates Kirit Panwal and Tarannum Cheema. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi is helping out the team as a strategic advisor..Here's a look at the profiles of the lawyers who will challenge the conviction of the now disqualified Member of Parliament..Senior Advocate RS Cheema.Senior Advocate RS Cheema is a seasoned criminal lawyer who practices before courts in Punjab and Delhi. He started law practice in 1977 and has been involved in many big ticket trials. Cheema has been a Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) in the Coalgate scam and also the Sikh riots case. He has appeared as an SPP in several high-profile matters for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).He represented the CBI in the Delhi High Court as an SPP and got the acquittal order of Sajjan Kumar reversed. He also secured convictions for a few prime accused in the Coalgate scam.Cheema had also appeared for Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald case and cross-examined BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who was the complainant in that case.A former economics professor, Cheema has also held the office of Advocate General for Punjab for two years and even turned down an offer to become a judge.Read our 2015 interview of RS Cheema here. .Advocate Kirit Panwala.Advocate Kirit Panwala, who represented Rahul Gandhi in the magistrate court in Surat, has more than four decades of experience. He is one of the most sought-after criminal lawyers in Surat and has fought over 1,600 murder and sessions cases.He appeared for one of the accused in the rape case pertaining to Narayan Sai, son of self-styled controversial godman Asaram Bapu.Panwala also served as a lecturer at Navyug Law College and VT Choksi Law College in Surat and is the author of 'Satya Mahithi,' a book based on his experiences in the courts. Besides, he has also been a producer of a Gujarati film called 'Narmada Tara Wahi Jata Pani.'.Advocate Tarannum Cheema.Tarannum Cheema is the daughter of Senior Advocate RS Cheema and has been practising as a lawyer for over a decade now. She has been assisting her father in many important cases. The father-daughter duo was part of the defence team in the 2G trial. She also assisted her father in the Coalgate and 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases, both at the trial and appellate stages.She has represented various political leaders of national stature in highly contentious matters and specializes in laws relating to economic offences, including the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). She also appears in matters where human rights are at stake, especially in cases of police and executive excesses committed against conscientious dissenters and cases involving the rights of weaker and marginalized sections..Gandhi had said during a speech delivered at Kolar, Karnataka during his 2019 political campaign, "Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi. How come all the thieves have 'Modi' as a common surname?A former BJP Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Purnesh Modi had taken exception to this speech, claiming that the now disqualified Member of Parliament (MP) Gandhi had defamed 13 crore persons who have the 'Modi' surname.While deciding the defamation case, Judge Hadirash Varma accepted the contentions of Modi and found Gandhi guilty of criminal defamation saying that he defamed 13 crore persons intentionally for his own political interests..Rahul Gandhi appeal: 'Only Narendra Modi could have filed defamation case, not all with Modi surname' and six other arguments