Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, March 25: Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which provides for an automatic expulsion of a member from the parliament or State legislature upon conviction in a criminal case, has been challenged in a petition to the Supreme Court.
The plea by Ph.D. scholar and social activist Aabha Muralidharan said that Section 8(3) is ultra vires of the Constitution since it curtails free speech of an elected Member of Parliament (MP) or Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and restrains law makers from freely discharging their duties cast upon them by the voters of their respective constituency.
The plea filed through advocate Deepak Prakash and drawn by advocate Sriram Parakkat said Section 8(3) is in stark contradiction to sub-section (1) of the Section 8, Section 8A, 9, 9A, 10 and 10A and 11 of the 1951 Act.
According to the argument put up by counsel Sriram Parakkat and advocate Deepak Prakash, section 8(3) of the 1951 Act is in stark contradiction to subsection (1) of sections 8, 8A, 9, 9A, 10, and 10A and 11.
The plea gains significance since it was submitted at a time when Congressman Rahul Gandhi has been expelled from the Lok Sabha as a result of a Surat court decision finding him guilty of criminal defamation and giving him a two-year jail term.
According to the petitioner, consideration should be given to the type, seriousness, role, moral turpitude, and role of the accused while determining whether to disqualify someone under Chapter III of the 1951 Act.
Notably, Section 8(3) of the 1951 Act, reads as follows:
(3) A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years [other than any offence referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2)] shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.
The plea, therefore, asked the Court to declare that there does not exist any automatic disqualification under Section 8(3) and in cases of automatic disqualification under Section 8(3) the same be declared as ultravires of the Constitution for being arbitrary and illegal.
The appeal also asked the court to rule that, because Section 499 of the IPC, which makes defamation a crime and has a maximum sentence of two years, violates an elected official’s right to free speech, it would not automatically result in the removal of any sitting member of any legislative body.
