Plea in SC challenges automatic disqualification of lawmakers upon conviction and 2-year sentence

New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the "automatic disqualification" of lawmakers upon their conviction and being sentenced to a jail term for two years or more according to section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act.

The plea, filed by a Kerala-based social activist, said the immediate reason for approaching the apex court was a recent development related to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as a member of Parliament from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, after he was convicted by a court in Gujarat's Surat in a 2019 criminal defamation case.

The petitioner, Aabha Muralidharan, has sought a declaration that the automatic disqualification under section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 is ultra vires the Constitution for being "arbitrary" and "illegal".