Will Rahul’s MP be reinstated or will we have to wait for the Supreme Court’s decision, what does the rule say?
Modi Surname Case: Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has got immediate relief from the Supreme Court in the criminal defamation case on ‘Modi surname’ remark. The court, in an interim order on Friday, stayed the sentence of the Congress leader for the time being. Along with this, everyone wants to know what will happen to Rahul Gandhi’s MP now? Will his parliament membership be restored? Will Rahul be able to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections? What does the Representation of the People Act say about all this?
Will Rahul Gandhi’s Parliament membership be restored?
After the relief from the Supreme Court, discussions have started about the restoration of Rahul’s Lok Sabha membership. Former Lok Sabha Secretary PDT Achari says that the suspension of punishment means that now Rahul Gandhi’s membership will be restored. This is what the rule says even if it is an interim stay. It has happened in the past also when an MP lost his membership due to the punishment given by the lower court, but after the order of the upper courts, his membership was restored.
So has the way been cleared for Rahul to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections?
The relief Rahul got from the Supreme Court is immediate. The court did not dismiss the case, but stayed the sentence. Now there will be a hearing in the Supreme Court in this matter. If the Supreme Court also sentences Rahul to two years in this case, then Rahul will be disqualified from contesting the elections. At the same time, Rahul will be able to contest elections if he is acquitted by the court or gets less than two years of punishment. However, till when this decision will come, it has to be seen. It may also happen that the decision of the court will come after the 2024 elections. In such a situation, Rahul can contest the 2024 elections.
Has membership of any leader ever been restored before?
Lakshadweep MP Mohammad Faizal has also been sentenced to 10 years by the court. After which his membership was gone. The Election Commission had also issued a notification for holding bye-elections to the Lakshadweep Lok Sabha. However, later the Kerala High Court stayed the sentence. Right now this matter is pending in the Supreme Court. Faizal was accused of attacking Congress leader and former Union Minister PM Sayeed and Mohammad Saliya. In this case, 32 people were made accused, out of which four were convicted by the court. Mohammad Faizal was also included in these.
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