Supreme Court: While deciding a substantial question of law regarding the election of convicted MPs and MLAs, the Court striking down sub-section (4) of Section 8 of the Representation of People Act, 1951 held that the said sub-section is ultra-vires as per the provision of the Constitution. The Court while relying upon the case of Election Commission, India v. Saka Venkata Rao 1953 SCR 1144, said that Art. 102(1)(e) and 191(1)(e) contains the source of legislative power to lay down disqualification and the reading of the aforesaid two provisions would make clear that the Parliament has to make one law for a person to be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of Parliament meaning thereby that if a person is disqualified from contesting election for a member of Parliament, for the same disqualification, he cannot continue as a member of Parliament also. The Court further, saying that this Court has the power not only to declare the law but also to restrict the operation of the law, held that present sitting members of Parliament and State Legislature who have already been convicted for any offences mentioned in sub-section (1), (2) and (3) of Section 8 of the said Act and have filed appeals or revisions which are pending are saved from the disqualifications by the present declaration but if any sitting member of Parliament or a State Legislature is convicted of any of the offences mentioned in sub-sections (1), (2) and (3) of Section 8 of the RPA hereinafter and by virtue of such conviction or sentence suffers the disqualifications from his membership of Parliament or the State Legislature, as the case may be, then he will not be saved by sub-section (4) of Section 8 of the said Act.[Lily Thomas v. Union of India, WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 490 OF 2005, July 10, 2013]
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 18:43:20 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015