After his conviction and sentencing in a 2019 defamation case by a Gujarat court, India’s parliament disqualified Congress senior leader and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi from the Lok Sabha on Friday. While numerous Congress leaders and Gandhi supporters suggested that the disqualification can be staved off if Gandhi’s sentence is stayed or suspended, Kapil Sibal, a former Congress politician and Union law minister, stated otherwise. He said that as per law, Gandhi stood automatically disqualified with his conviction.
Speaking to NDTV, Sibal, who has represented several high-profile cases in the Supreme Court of India and is widely regarded as one of the most famous lawyers in India, stated that a mere suspension of his sentence would not suffice; his conviction also needed to be suspended or stayed. According to Sibal, if Rahul Gandhi’s conviction order is not sustained or stayed, Gandhi cannot continue as a member of Parliament.
Watch: Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal), Rajya Sabha MP, on Rahul Gandhi’s conviction pic.twitter.com/FjJDlEr4jv
— NDTV (@ndtv) March 23, 2023
“I don’t know what the order states…if it only suspends the sentence that’s not enough, there has to be a stay or a suspension on conviction. Only if there is a stay on conviction can he continue to be a member of the Lok Sabha.”
“…the law states that the moment you are convicted in any offence for two years, then your seat will stand vacant,” Sibal told a journalist who questioned him about the legality of the move after Rahul Gandhi’s conviction.
When asked if the Lok Sabha Secretariat must move or if it happens automatically, Sibal asserted that the law requires it, so it is only natural that the speaker of the Lok Sabha will move in accordance with the law.
Notably, the Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a letter on Friday that stated, “Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala, stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 23 March 2023…”
Gandhi, a scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, was convicted on Thursday (March 23) for over his remarks insulting the Modi surname. During an election rally in 2019, Rahul Gandhi alleged that everyone with the Modi surname, including Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Narendra Modi, are thieves. Following this, Gujarat BJP leader Surat Purnesh Modi filed a criminal defamation case against the Congress leader, accusing him of defaming the entire Modi community. The court, however, granted him bail immediately and suspended the sentence for a month.
Notably, the Representation of the People Act, of 1951 specifies the qualifications and the disqualifications of Members of Parliament and state legislatures. Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1951, contains provisions aimed at decriminalizing electoral politics. According to section 8(3) of this law, any MP or MLA convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of conviction.
In accordance with the law, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has disqualified Rahul Gandhi and declared his constituency vacant in response to the Surat court judgement. The Election Commission can now call a special election for the seat. Gandhi can also be asked to vacate his 12, Tughlaq Lane government bungalow in Delhi. Rahul Gandhi is occupying the residence since he was allotted the same after he became a member of Lok Sabha from Amethi in 2004.
