SC agrees to hear govt, parties’ plea
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea filed by the Centre and other political parties seeking a review of its two significant judgments disqualifying MPs and MLAs on being convicted in criminal cases and prohibiting arrested persons from contesting elections.
The top court has decided to hear the review plea, which is normally decided by judges in chamber, in open court and posted the matter for hearing on September 4. “The language of Order XL Rule 3 of Part VIII of the Supreme Court Rules, 1966, makes it clear that an application for review shall be disposed of by circulation without any oral arguments ‘unless otherwise ordered by the court’. The court is of the opinion that it should hear the oral arguments before passing any order on the applications for review. Hence, the registry is directed to list these two review petitions before the court for hearing along with other review petitions filed against the same judgment and/or order before the court for hearing at 2 pm on September 4, 2013,” said the one-page order given by a bench of justices A.K. Patnaik and S.J. Mukhopadhaya.
The order was passed on a plea of Haryana Swatantra Party president Ramesh Dalal but the court said it will hear review petitions filed by others also. The review petition was also filed by the Centre which contended that protecting convicted MPs and MLAs from disqualification during pendency of appeal is necessary “to protect the House and to ensure that governance is not adversely impacted.”
The SC had on July 10 held that an MP or MLA convicted for any criminal offence attracting a punishment of two years and above will be disqualified immediately and a person, who is in jail or in police custody with the exception of preventive custody, cannot contest election to legislative bodies. It had declared as unconstitutional a provision in Section 8(4) of Representation of the People Act that says a convicted legislator can continue in office if he or she appeals in a higher court within three months of the conviction.
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