Court scraps legal shield

New Delhi: In a landmark judgment that could cleanse Parliament and assemblies of criminals, the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a provision in the electoral law that protects a convicted lawmaker from disqualification on the ground of pendency of appeal in higher courts.

“The only question is about the vires of section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) and we hold that it is ultra vires and that the disqualification takes place from the date of conviction,” a bench of justice AK Patnaik and justice SJ Mukhopadhaya said.

The court, however, said its decision would not apply to convicted MPs and MLAs who had filed their appeals in the higher courts before the pronouncement of this verdict.

The verdict seeks to remove the discrimination between an ordinary individual and an elected lawmaker, who enjoys protection under the RPA.

Under Sec 8(3) of the RPA, a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified for that and a further six years after release.

The following sub-section 8(4) says a lawmaker cannot be disqualified for three months from the conviction, and if in that period he or she files an appeal, till its disposal by a higher court.

The Election Commission has, in its reports from time to time, been seeking amendment of the law for removal of the incumbent advantage to elected MPs and MLAs convicted of various offences.

But political parties have been resisting change on the ground that ruling dispensations bring false charges to keep rivals out of election process.

According to findings of Association for Democratic Reforms, an NGO, 162 sitting MPs face criminal charges in various cases, of which 76 involve offences punishable with imprisonment of more than five years.

Similarly, a total of 1,460 MLAs face criminal charges in various courts. According to the ADR, 30% of these are punishable with more than five years’ imprisonment.

Political class hails: The political class has welcomed the verdict the Supreme Court verdict.

Leaders, however, expressed apprehensions about the judgment’s “far-reaching” implications.

In their initial response, both the Congress and the BJP sought more time to formulate a position.

Congress leader Renuka Chowdhary told reporters that it would be “premature” for her to react. “Of course, we always welcome and appreciate any check or balance which is going to work and set up barriers and clean society.” But she added the party needed to see what the judgment exactly said and its “ramifications.”

BJP national spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman told The Hindu, “We welcome any step taken by Central Information Commission, Election Commission, or the Supreme Court towards cleaning the electoral process. But we haven’t even seen a copy of the verdict yet, and will need time.”

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) did not express a view on the matter, with several senior party leaders travelling out of the capital. (Agencies)