Activist files plea in India’s apex court against law that stripped Rahul Gandhi of his MP status
Rahul Gandhi
A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court of India challenging the provisions of the Representatives of the Peoples Act under which opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified as a member of the Lower House of the parliament.
The petition filed by scholar and social activistAabha Muralidharanon Saturday has urged the apex court to declare “ultra-vires” Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 which provides for automatic disqualification of a legislator from the parliament or state assembly upon conviction in a criminal case, according to legal news portal Bar and Bench.
The petitioner said that factors such as nature, gravity, role, moral turpitude and the role of the accused, ought to be examined while considering disqualification under Chapter III of the 1951 Act.
On Friday, Rahul, MP from southern Kerala state’s Wayanad constituency, was disqualified from the Lok Sabha after he was found guilty and sentenced to two years prison by a court in Surat city of the western state Gujarat in a2019 defamation case.
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The defamation case was filed by a BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for Gandhi saying, "How come all thieves have the common surname Modi?"
Reacting to his disqualification, Rahul said he is ready to "pay any price".
"I am fighting for the voice of India. I am ready to pay any price," he tweeted in Hindi on Friday.
Following his expulsion, the former Congress chief's Wayanad seat also fell vacant. Bypolls to vacant seats in the Parliament and state legislatures must be held within six months from when the seat falls vacant, according to Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 2015.
While addressing a rally in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul targeted PM Modi over his last name which he shares with fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.
(With inputs from agencies)
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