Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified from the Lok Sabha, a day after he was convicted in a defamation case by a Surat court. A notice issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat said he stood disqualified from the House from March 23, the day of his conviction. Rahul Gandhi has to now move a higher court and get his conviction stayed.
Rahul Gandhi defamation case was filed on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi for remarks he had made at a Lok Sabha election rally in Karnataka’s Kolar on April 13, 2019.
However, soon after the court granted him bail and a time period of 30 days to appeal against the quantum of punishment. According to the information, the case was filed against Gandhi for his alleged “how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?” He stated this while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Notably, the complaint against his remarks was lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.
The Lok Sabha Secretariat, on Friday, said that Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha, representing Wayanad Constituency of Kerala, stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the day of his conviction, March 23, 2023.
This is in terms of provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
In its judgment dated July 10, 2013, the Supreme Court, while disposing the Lily Thomas v. Union of India case (along with Lok Prahari v. Union of India), ruled that any Member of Parliament (MP), Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) or Member of a Legislative Council (MLC) who is convicted of a crime and given a minimum of two years’ imprisonment, loses membership of the House with immediate effect.
