Plea to quash notification restoring Rahul Gandhi’s LS membership filed in SC
The petition claims that Rahul lost his Lok Sabha membership when he was convicted for defamation and 'as such the Speaker was not right in restoring back his lost membership'
A plea to quash the notification restoring Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership has been filed in the Supreme Court.
The plea seeks to quash the August 7 notification, which restored the Lok Sabha membership of the Congress leader after the apex court order stayed his conviction in a 2019 defamation case. The Supreme Court (SC) had on August 4 suspended Rahul's conviction in the criminal defamation case over his “why all thieves have Modi surname” remark.
Rahul, who represents Wayanad in the lower House of Parliament, was disqualified from Parliament on March 24, after a Gujarat court convicted and sentenced him to two-year imprisonment for the comments he had made on the Modi surname. The Gujarat high court had also dismissed his petition for a stay on conviction, observing that “purity in politics” is the need of the hour.
Challenging the August 7 notification
This new petition, which was filed in the apex court on Tuesday (September 5) by Lucknow-based advocate Ashok Pandey, said it is challenging the August 7 notification issued by the Lok Sabha restoring Rahul’s membership.
It claimed that as per provisions contained in Article 102 read with Section 8 (3) of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951 and the law laid down by a constitution bench of the apex court in BR Kapoor vs State of Tamil Nadu and another, “the disqualification based on conviction and sentence will continue to operate till it is set aside in appeal”.
While Article 102 of the Constitution deals with disqualification of a member of either House of Parliament, Section 8 (3) of the RP Act says a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.
The petition has arrayed the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Union of India, the Election Commission of India and Rahul Gandhi as respondents. It has also sought a direction to the Election Commission to notify the vacancy of the seat being held by him and holding fresh election there.
Regaining lost membership
The petition claimed Gandhi lost his membership of Lok Sabha when he was convicted for defamation and was awarded two years sentence and “as such the Speaker was not right in restoring back his lost membership”.
“In view of order of the Supreme Court staying the conviction of Rahul Gandhi, the petitioner also pray to constitution bench of this court to kindly decide the issue as to whether the conviction of an accused can be stayed by the court of appeal or any court and whether on the basis of stay of conviction, a person who has suffered disqualification by operation of law, will become qualified to be chosen as or for being, a member of Parliament/State legislature,” the petition said.
The plea has also urged the apex court to decide whether the notification regarding loss of membership of a convicted legislator will be notified by the chairman or speaker of the House concerned or is it the domain of the Election Commission. “Rahul Gandhi is disqualified from being chosen as or from being a member of Parliament and state legislature till his conviction is not set aside by the court of appeal and so, to restore his membership and to permit him to continue to work as Member of Parliament is in clear violation of Article 102 read with section 8 (3) of the RP Act, 1951,” it claimed.
The August 4 order by SC
The top court passed the August 4 order while hearing a petition by Rahul challenging the Gujarat high court verdic,t which had dismissed his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in the defamation case filed by Purnesh Modi over his “Modi surname” remark. The apex court, while granting Gandhi the relief, had said no reason was given by the trial court judge while convicting him except that he was admonished by the top court in a contempt case.
Purnesh Modi had filed the criminal defamation case in 2019 against Gandhi over his “How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname?” comment made at an election rally in Kolar in Karnataka on April 13, 2019.
A metropolitan magistrate’s court in Surat had on March 23 sentenced the former Congress president to two years in jail after convicting him under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation).
Following the verdict, Gandhi was disqualified as an MP under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.
The top court had earlier closed the contempt proceedings against Gandhi for wrongly attributing to it his “chowkidar chor hai” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the Rafale case, with a warning to be more careful in future, after the senior Congress leader tendered an unconditional apology.
(With agency inputs)
