The spectre of disqualification as a Member of Parliament looms large for former Congress President Rahul Gandhi after a district court in Surat held him guilty of criminal defamation in a case filed in 2019 over his remarks with regard to the 'Modi' surname.
According to a senior Congress leader, Rahul stands to be disqualified after the conviction in keeping with the Supreme Court's order in the Lily Thomas case in 2013. The leader said the Wayanad MP cannot attend Parliament till he procures a stay on the district court's order from a higher court.
As per the Supreme Court's judgment that was passed on July 10, 2013, any MP, MLA or MLC who is convicted of a crime and given a sentence of a minimum of two years stands to be disqualified from the House with immediate effect. As per law, conviction in a criminal case results in disqualification for a period of six years.
Officially, the Congress has stopped short of saying that Rahul stands to be disqualified, saying that going by the manner in which the government has dealt with him, it would be no surprise if Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla went ahead and issued a notification making his disqualification from the lower house of Parliament official.
Prominent lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the Surat court's order is full of errors and legally unsustainable. He said an appeal would be filed very soon in a sessions court to seek a stay on the order and also its review.
“No doubt the government will do everything unethical and even go against their own written affidavit seeking changes in the law (that provide for immediate disqualification of a legislator upon conviction in a criminal case),” he said when asked if the party anticipated that the Speaker will move towards disqualifying Rahul as an MP.
Singhvi said the party's legal team will study the judgment, which is in Gujarati, and move for its appeal within two to three days. He said he was confident that the order will be struck down by a higher court.
