In a move to overturn a Supreme Court ruling, the government on Friday introduced a bill in Rajya Sabha under which convicted MPs and MLAs cannot be disqualified immediately even though they will be barred from voting in the House and drawing their salary till their appeal is decided.
The Representation of the People (Second Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013, introduced by law minister Kapil Sibal, also seeks to negate the apex court verdict on immediate disqualification. The bill to amend the Representation of the People Act makes it clear that an MP or MLA cannot be disqualified after conviction if his or her appeal is pending before a court and sentence is stayed.
Opposing the introduction of the bill, Rangasayee Ramakrishna (BJP) said this was against the Supreme Court ruling and will not be sustainable.
However, responding to the objections, Mr Sibal said, “We have reframed section 84 and the nature of the proviso is entirely different to what the Supreme Court had objected.”
P.J. Kurien, who was in the chair, also said that the bill has already been introduced and the member should have objected before the minister had introduced it. The bill says, “...A disqualification under any of the said sub-sections shall not, in the case of a person who on the date of the conviction is a member of Parliament or the legislature of a state, take effect, if an appeal or application for revision is filed in respect of the conviction and sentence within a period of 90 days from the date of conviction and such conviction or sentence is stayed by the court.”
In the bill, a proviso has been added to sub-section (4) of Section 8 of the RP Act which makes it clear that convicted member shall continue to take part in proceedings of Parliament or Legislature of a state but he or she shall neither be entitled to vote nor draw salary and allowances till the appeal or revision is finally decided by the court. Once passed, the amendment to the RPA shall come into effect from July 10, 2013, the day the Supreme Court gave the landmark judgment.