Paving way for cleaning criminals in Parliament and Assemblies all over the country, the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a provision in the electoral law that protects the convicted people's representatives from getting disqualified on the grounds of pendency of appeal against their conviction in higher courts.
The Supreme Court bench opined, "The only question is about the vires of section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) and we hold that it is ultra vires and that the disqualification takes place from the date of conviction".
Much to the relief of few tainted MPs and MLAs, SC maintained that the new decision will not apply to the lawmakers who have been convicted and have filed their appeals in the higher courts before the pronouncement of Today's verdict.
As per the provision in Representation of the People Act (RPA), MPs and MLAs can't be disqualified even though if he/she was convicted in a criminal case as long as they appeal in a higher court. This is gonna change now with the landmark judgement delivered by SC. The verdict was a result of the petition filed by an NGO activist who sought striking down of some provisions of RPA on the grounds that they are encouraging criminals in politics.
The Supreme Court bench opined, "The only question is about the vires of section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) and we hold that it is ultra vires and that the disqualification takes place from the date of conviction".
Much to the relief of few tainted MPs and MLAs, SC maintained that the new decision will not apply to the lawmakers who have been convicted and have filed their appeals in the higher courts before the pronouncement of Today's verdict.
As per the provision in Representation of the People Act (RPA), MPs and MLAs can't be disqualified even though if he/she was convicted in a criminal case as long as they appeal in a higher court. This is gonna change now with the landmark judgement delivered by SC. The verdict was a result of the petition filed by an NGO activist who sought striking down of some provisions of RPA on the grounds that they are encouraging criminals in politics.