The recent expulsion of Rahul Gandhi from the Indian parliament has sent shockwaves throughout the country as India prepares for general elections next spring. Gandhi’s expulsion is the result of India’s colonial-era penal code, which contains a wide criterion for criminal defamation charges. The defamation case stems from a speech Gandhi made four years ago, where he made a comment about how two criminal fugitives suspected of thievery and corruption shared the same surname as Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A defamation case was subsequently filed in 2019 in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, by an unrelated local Bhartiya Janata Party leader with the same surname as the prime minister. In addition to his 2-year prison sentence, Gandhi’s conviction immediately disqualifies him from parliament and jeopardizes his ability to lead and/or influence an opposition coalition ahead of next year’s general elections.