WE HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT JUDGMENTBY WHICH Any Member of Parliament (MP), Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) or Member of a Legislative Council (MLC) who is convicted of a crime with more than two year sentence, will be disqualified as an elected representative on the date of conviction. The Case is known as Lily Thomas vs Union of India (2013) It was in that case The Supreme Court of India, ruled that any Member of Parliament (MP), Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) or Member of a Legislative Council (MLC) who is convicted of a crime with more than two year sentence will be disqualified as an elected representative on the date of conviction. We also knew that the verdict sent waves of panic amongst the government, as many of the MPs have pending criminal cases against them. In an attempt to overturn this decision, the Representation of the People (Second Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013, was introduced into the Rajya Sabha on 30 August by the then Law Minister Kapil Sibal; by the proposed amendment, representatives would not be disqualified immediately after conviction. The Indian government also filed a review petition, which the Supreme Court dismissed. The effect of the ruling was immediate: three MPs – Rasheed Masood, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Jagdish Sharma, all since convicted, have lost their Parliament membership. According to the Association of Democratic Reforms, as many as 72 sitting MPs face criminal charges and could be disqualified if convicted for over two years. Hope that the dream of “Clean Politics” might not be that far-fetched, after all? [Advocate Lilly Thomas is a physically challenged person] **
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 11:12:15 +0000