Lalu Prasads appeal cannot stall his disqualification: AG - Times of India NEW DELHI: The notification disqualifying Lalu Prasad as Member of Parliament cannot await the outcome of his appeal in high court against conviction and sentence in a fodder scam case as he stood disqualified after the trial court verdict, attorney general G E Vahanvati said in his opinion to the Lok Sabha secretariat. Clearing confusion in parliamentary circles as to which authority should issue the notification disqualifying convicted MPs - Lalu, Jagdish Sharma and Rasheed Masood, the AG said the Houses to which the convicted MPs belonged should issue notifications disqualifying them. The Lok Sabha secretariat had asked the AG two questions: one, could the disqualification wait till the final judicial forum decided the correctness of the trial court verdict and two, who should issue the notification - ministry of law, Election Commission or Lok Sabha secretariat. Adding to his earlier opinion to Lok Sabha secretariat that an MP stood disqualified automatically from the date of his conviction, Vahanvati in his fresh opinion on Friday said the disqualification has taken effect and must be given effect to in case of Lalu and Sharma. Recourse, if any, which may be had by the member concerned to an appellate court does not derogate from the fact that the disqualification has been incurred, he said. If at a later stage an appellate court passed an order favourable to the MP who was disqualified because of conviction and sentence by a trial court, then effect of that order would be evaluated independently as and when such a situation arose, the AG said. The disqualified member could argue with the authority concerned about the positive effect of the appellate courts order but such an eventuality could not delay the disqualification, which had already taken effect, the top law officer said. He also advised the LS secretariat not to await the outcome of the appeals filed by the disqualified MPs as it would be contrary to the ruling of the Supreme Court in the Lily Thomas case, in which the apex court had stripped elected representatives of the benefit of Section 8(4) of the Representation of People Act. Section 8(4) allowed MPs and MLAs to continue as members of legislatures if they merely filed an appeal in the higher forum against their conviction. Vahanvati drew support from the Raja Ram Pal case, in which the Lok Sabha had disqualified 11 MPs for breach of privilege for taking money to ask questions on the floor of the House. In that case, the Lok Sabha secretariat had issued the notification disqualifying the delinquent MPs. On a parity of reasoning and on the same analogy, it is the Lok Sabha secretariat which has to issue the notification giving effect to the disqualification and declaring the seat vacant. The role of the EC would come in subsequently on the aspect of filling in the vacancy, but the primary and immediate responsibility is that of the Lok Sabha secretariat, the AG said. dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup KLik Baca selanjutnya : ift.tt/17z6Pd2
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 23:42:30 +0000
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