Disqualified MP Rahul Gandhi K’s reinstatement as a member of the 17th Lok Sabha now hinges entirely on whether the Supreme Court agrees to stay his conviction in the criminal defamation case, prompting the Election Commission to announce a by-election. can stop. The Wayanad Lok Sabha seat vacated by him is still vacant. Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, mandates the Election Commission to fill casual vacancies in the Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures through bye-elections within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy, provided that the remainder of the term of any vacancy The member in the relationship is one year or more.
Gujarat High Court dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s petition
In a jolt to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Gujarat High Court on Friday dismissed his plea seeking a stay on his conviction in a criminal defamation case over his remarks on Modi. This means that Rahul Gandhi will be disqualified as an MP from the Lok Sabha.
Mandatory to hold by-elections in Wayanad by September 22, 2023
The Wayanad seat fell vacant after Rahul was disqualified on March 23. According to Section 151A, it is mandatory for the Election Commission to hold by-elections there by September 22, 2023. Since this vacancy had arisen more than one year before the tenure of 17th Lok Sabha. Finally, by-elections cannot be dispensed with, even if the tenure of the elected MP is short-lived.
Election commission will keep in mind some past experiences
Sources said that the Congress leadership has decided to appeal directly to the Supreme Court without going to the division bench of the Gujarat High Court to save time. Incidentally, the Election Commission was quick to announce by-elections to fill the vacancies created by the disqualification of Lakshadweep MP Mohd Faizal, SP leader Azam Khan and his son Abdullah Azam Khan. In January 2023, just days after Faizal’s disqualification for being convicted in an attempt to murder case, CEC Rajeev Kumar had announced a by-election for the Lakshadweep Lok Sabha seat. However, the Election Commission had to withdraw the election notification a few days later, as the Kerala High Court quashed Faizal’s conviction.
Wayanad seat vacant since March 23
Sources said that the Election Commission is preferring a wait-and-see policy instead of starting the bypoll process for Wayanad immediately. The idea is to give time to Rahul and his lawyers to seek legal remedies as the law gives the Election Commission six months to conduct the bypolls. On March 29, at a press conference to announce the Karnataka elections, Kumar had said, “There is no hurry.
Election Commission can wait for Supreme Court’s decision
However, it is not clear from the Election Commission at what stage it will wait for the legal remedies before announcing the Wayanad bypolls. Since March 29, the Surat sessions court and now the Gujarat High Court have refused to stay Rahul’s sentence. While there is a possibility that the sessions court, while hearing a parallel petition on the merits of the conviction and sentence awarded to Rahul, may reduce his sentence by two years – thereby rendering his disqualification ineffective – the proceedings are usually lengthy. Lasts for a while. Unless such relief is provided in the next two and a half months, the Wayanad bypoll seems inevitable.