The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked disqualified Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal P P who questioned the delay by the Lok Sabha secretariat in restoring his membership as to which of his fundamental rights got violated due to alleged inaction.
As a counsel, representing the NCP leader mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna, asked, “What is the fundamental right that is being violated?”
He said that his client's right to represent the constituency was being taken away in a completely arbitrary fashion.
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On this, the bench asked the counsel to approach the high court.
The counsel, however, pointed out that the top court was already seized of the petition filed by Union Territory Administration against the stay granted on his conviction and suspension of sentence of 10 years in jail in an attempt to murder case.
The bench then agreed to take up the matter on Wednesday.
The petitioner claimed seven letters have been written to the official for restoring his membership but there was unlawful inaction on behalf of the Lok Sabha secretariat in withdrawing the notification issued on January 13, 2023, disqualifying him as MP.
In the petition filed through advocate K R Sasiprabhu, the NCP leader submitted the petitioner’s conviction, which formed the basis of the notification, has been stayed by the Kerala High Court on January 25, 2023, and the Supreme Court had also refused to stay the High Court's order.
"This inaction is in the teeth of the settled law that disqualification incurred by a Member of Parliament under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 ceases to operate if the conviction is stayed by the appellate court under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure," it said.
The plea further pointed out this position has been recently re-iterated by a three-judge bench of this court in Lok Prahari vs Election Commission of India (2018).
The petitioner was on January 11, 2023, sentenced to 10 years imprisonment after being held guilty in the case.