Plea In SC Challenges Automatic Disqualification Of Lawmakers Upon Conviction & 2-Year Sentence

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court today challenging the “automatic disqualification” of lawmakers upon their conviction and being sentenced to a jail term for 2 years or more according to section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act.

The plea, filed by a Kerala-based social activist, said that the immediate reason for approaching the apex court was a recent development related to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as a member of Parliament from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency after he was convicted by a court in Gujarat’s Surat in a 2019 criminal defamation case.

The petitioner, Aabha Muralidharan sought a declaration that the automatic disqualification under section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 is ultra vires the Constitution for being “arbitrary” and “illegal”.