SC bars future lawmakers from office if convicted of crime

Thursday, 11 July 2013 By Legally India Bar, Bench & Litigation

A Supreme Court bench of Justices AK Patnaik and SJ Mukhopadhaya ruled that lawmakers can be disqualified if they have been convicted of a criminal offence.

The bench struck down as ultra vires section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), which protected MPs, MLAs and other legislators in their posts if they had appealed their criminal convictions in a higher court, reported the Indian Express.

The ruling, which will not apply retrospectively to those who have already filed their criminal appeals, was made in petitions filed by Lily Thomas and the NGO Lok Prahari, which challenged a number of RPA provisions as unconstitutional.

According to disclosures made by candidates to the Election Commission, 1,460 MPs and MLAs have criminal cases pending, of which 688 were serious, reported the Express.

[Download judgment here]

criminalSupreme CourtSJ MukhopadhayaAK Patnaikpoliticianscorruption

Comments

Guest 11 Jul 2013, 19:50
+0 -0
The CIA keeps deleting my comment. I am reposting it. India's government is a proxy for the CIA. The requirement, put in place by Manmohan Singh, for mid-career Indian civil servants (sending Indian military officers for training to the United States has the same purpose) to go to United States universities for training so their future career prospects, promotions, etc. are controlled by Americans is meant to make India's government as a proxy for the CIA more perfect. There has been a long-standing requirement in American and British universities that to receive a Ph.D. degree from them, Indians -- this included Manmohan Singh -- have to agree to work for American or British intelligence agencies. India's legitimate ruler -- Satish Chandra -- has been systematically suppressed using 24-hour satellite surveillance for the past 36 years. IndiasLegitimateRulerSatishChandraDOTblogspotDOTcom
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