Lakshadweep MP moves SC against Lok Sabha Secretariat not withdrawing disqualification notice

Mohammed Faizal said the inaction was contempt of court as elected representatives should be reinstated promptly if conviction is suspended.

ByMuhammed Fazil

Published Mar 26, 2023 | 8:11 PMUpdatedMar 26, 2023 | 8:30 PM

Lakshadweep MP's plea

Mohammed Faizal, the Lakshadweep MP who was disqualified on terms of his conviction and 10-year sentence, has moved the Supreme Court against the Lok Sabha Secretariat for not withdrawing his disqualification notice even after the Kerala High Court suspended his conviction and sentence.

Faizal was disqualified as a Member of Parliament on 13 January, according to a notification issued by the Lok Sabha, with effect from 11 January, the date of his conviction in an attempted-murder case by a sessions court in Kavaratti.

In the petition filed in the Supreme Court on Saturday, 25 March, Faizal said through advocate KR Sasiprabhu that the Lok Sabha Secretariat failed to withdraw its notification despite the fact that his conviction was stayed by the high court on 25 January.

“The Lok Sabha Secretariat not revoking my disqualification notice is essentially contempt to court as the Kerala High Court suspended my conviction and sentence, and also because the Supreme Court upheld the order,” Faizal told South First.

Faizal’s case has come into the spotlight ever since Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha after he was convicted in a case of criminal intimidation and sentenced to prison for two years.

Related: Kerala High Court suspends 10-year sentence of Lakshadweep MP 

‘Unlawful inaction’

“The petitioner is constrained to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, against the unlawful inaction on the part of the respondent, Secretary General of the Lok Sabha Secretariat in not withdrawing the notification dated 13 January, 2023, whereby the petitioner was disqualified from his membership of Parliament from the Lakshadweep Parliamentary constituency,” the plea said.

It further claimed that the respondent’s inaction was in the “teeth of the settled law” that disqualification incurred by a Member of Parliament (MP) under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act of 1951 ceased to operate if the conviction was stayed by the appellate court under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

“It is pertinent to note that the Election Commission (EC), by taking note of the correct legal position, recalled the by-election press note dated 18 January, 2023,” it said.

“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 added.

The plea said the Lok Sabha Secretariat had not revoked the disqualification notification despite various representations, and that Faizal was denied participation in the Budget Session of Parliament as well as the ongoing session.

According to Faizal, the plea would be mentioned for an urgent hearing on Monday.

Letters to the Speaker

The NCP leader in the Lok Sabha, Supriya Sule, wrote to the Speaker on 23 February asking for his reinstatement.

Faizal himself wrote to the Speaker on 24 February.

“Despite the order of the High Court of Kerala staying my conviction, and the said High Court order having not been stayed by the Supreme Court, I have not been rightfully reinstated to my position in the Lok Sabha. This is causing grave prejudice to me as well as to the public interest at large as I am not being permitted to participate in the proceedings pertaining to the Lok Sabha,” he said in his letter.

He also said that the delay in the decision to reinstate him as a Member of Parliament is arbitrary and in violation of his constitutional rights, specifically under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

Related: Faizal not reinstated as MP, despite HC suspending conviction

Timeline of the case

10 January: A sessions court in Kavaratti convicts Mohammad Faizal and four others in an attempted-murder case.

13 January: An order is issued by the Lok Sabha Speaker disqualifying Faizal as an MP with effect from 10 January.

18 January: Election Commission issues notification regarding the by-polls in Lakshadweep.

25 January: Kerala High Court suspends the session’s court judgement on the conviction and the sentence of the former MP.

20 February: The Supreme Court refuses to stay the Kerala High Court order suspending the conviction and sentence, on a petition filed by the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. The court listed the matter to 28 March for further hearing.

25 March: Faizal moves Supreme Court to revoke the disqualification as MP.