Incidentally, the SLP filed by the UT of Lakshadweep against the Kerala HC order suspending the conviction will also be heard the same day.
Former Lakshadweep MP Mohammad Faizal at a public event in Kavaratti, Lakshadweep. (Supplied)
The Supreme Court, on Monday, 27 March, agreed to hear on Tuesday the petition filed by Mohammad Faizal, who was disqualified as the Lakshadweep MP, against the Lok Sabha Secretariat for not withdrawing his disqualification notice even after the Kerala High Court suspended his conviction and sentence.
Upon a mention by senior advocate AN Singhvi for an urgent hearing on the matter, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud agreed to list it on Tuesday.
Despite the Supreme Court has refused to stay the decision of the Kerala High Court, The Lok Sabha has not revoked the disqualification, Singvi said.
Incidentally, the Special Leave Petition filed by the Lakshadweep administration against the Kerala High Court order suspending the conviction and the sentence of Faizal will also be heard by the apex court on Tuesday.
It will be heard by a bench headed by Justice KM Joseph.
“I am hopeful of getting a positive response from the Supreme Court. Since both the petitions are coming up for hearing tomorrow, it will give a clear picture about the reinstatement of my membership,” Faizal told South First.
Earlier, Mohammad Faizal said that the Lok Sabha Secretariat not reinstating him as a member amounted to contempt to the court.
“Considering the Supreme Court order on the 2018 Lok Prahari vs the Union of India case, the disqualification of an elected representative should be revoked immediately after the conviction gets suspended. In my case, this hasn’t happened even after two months,” Faizal said.
The NCP leader had earlier written to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, on 24 February, seeking to revoke the notification that disqualified him.
Supriya Sule, NCP leader in the Lok Sabha, also wrote to the Speaker on 23 February asking for his reinstatement.
The court in Lakshadweep had on 10 January sentenced four people, including Faizal, to 10 years in jail after they were found guilty in an attempt to murder case.
The others who were convicted are Faizal’s brother and two of his relatives, listed as accused Nos 1 to 4.
The Kavaratti Sessions Court also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh each on the convicts for attempting to kill Mohammed Salih, son-in-law of late Congress leader, former Union Minister, and long-time parliamentarian from Lakshadweep, PM Sayeed, in the run-up to the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
The case pertains to Faizal, who is an MBA from Calicut University, and his accomplices attacking and seriously injuring Muhammed Salih, who was also a Congress worker, ahead of the 2009 polls.
According to the prosecution, Faizal, along with 36 other accused persons, attacked Salih after wrongfully confining him and his friend Mohammed Kassim at a house on Andrott island.
The mob, which was armed with deadly weapons, including Faizal, chased Salih when he tried to flee the spot, forcefully entered a house where he had taken shelter, and brutally attacked him with sticks, choppers, and iron rods, the prosecution said.
However, after the judgement, Faizal said that the case in which he was convicted was one-sided, and the investigating agency framed charges against him due to which he was convicted.
“The police claimed that Salih was attacked with sharp objects but the medical certificate presented by the police clearly says that no sharp weapons were used and his injury was caused by a blunt object,” said Faizal.
He also said that he was not at the location of the incident when it happened, since he was busy with work related to the election.
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