Told to promptly notify disqualification of convicted lawmakers
New Delhi : The Election Commission has asked Parliament and state legislatures to promptly notify disqualification of convicted lawmakers “without any discrimination”, observing that delays in some cases allowed a member to illegally continue as MP or MLA. In a set of instructions issued to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats as well as secretariats of state legislatures, the Commission has noted that “in some cases, there has been delay in the issuance of such notification by the secretariat of the House”.
The poll body said the information about conviction and the subsequent notification of disqualification should not take more than seven days each. It said that the delay leads to situations where “the member who had incurred disqualification continues to be a member of the House in violation of provisions of Article 103 (of the Constitution) and law laid down by the Supreme Court”. In its July 10, 2013, judgement, Supreme Court had struck down sub-section 4 of Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, under which incumbent MPs, MLAs and MLCs can avoid disqualification till pendency of the appeal against conviction in a higher court.
As the SC verdict is the law of the land now, conviction of lawmakers in certain cases, including those relating to corruption, leads to their immediate disqualification as a member of any House of legislature. The Commission told Parliament and state legislatures to enforce the law regarding immediate disqualification upon conviction “without any discrimination”.
