Petition filed to declare disqualification of convicted MPs ‘unlawful’

A day after Congress MP (Wayanad) Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha following his conviction in a prison defamation case, a petition has now been filed earlier than the Supreme Court in search of such computerized disqualifications of elected representatives as ‘illegal.’

According to the authorized web site, Bar and Bench, the petitioner has challenged the constitutional validity of Section 8(3) of the Representatives of People’s Act, 1951.

The laws, in query, clearly states, “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.”

#BREAKING Plea filed in #SupremeCourtOfIndia challenges the constitutional validity of Section 8(3) of the Representatives of People’s Act.

Plea says computerized disqualification of People‟s representatives of elected legislative our bodies, after conviction is against the law pic.twitter.com/x7CyZtiU7m

— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) March 25, 2023

The petition learn:

“That the Petitioner herein is a Ph.D. Scholar and is a Social Activist having worked with organizations in the area of education, rights of young people and public health, who seeks to challenge the automatic disqualification of People’s representatives of elected legislative bodies, upon being convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years as per Chapter III, S. 8 (3) of the Representatives of the People Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as “the 1951 Act”), and declare the identical as extremely vires of the Constitution of India, 1950 because the similar is in stark contradiction to sub- part (1) of the Section 8, Section 8A, 9, 9A, 10 and 10A and 11 of the 1951 Act, thereby restrains the members from freely discharging their duties casted upon them by the voter’s of their respective constituency, which is towards the ideas of democracy.“

The Background of the Case

On Thursday (March 23), Rahul Gandhi was convicted and sentenced to 2 years in jail by the courtroom of Chief Judicial Magistrate in Surat for his defamatory feedback towards folks with the ‘Modi surname’ in a speech in 2019.

A prison defamation case was filed by Gujarat BJP chief Purnesh Modi after Rahul Gandhi in an election rally had requested why everybody with the Modi surname is a thief, mentioning Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Narendra Modi.

Apart from the present disqualification, Rahul Gandhi can even not be capable to contest the following normal election, and in addition maybe the 2029 elections, if the conviction is just not overturned by the next courtroom. According to the legislation, the disqualification will proceed for six years after launch from jail.