Lok Sabha membership of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was on Monday restored by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, three days after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in a defamation case.
In an order issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat on Monday, it was informed that in view of the Supreme Court order dated August 4, Gandhi’s disqualification, which was ordered on March 24 this year, stands withdrawn.
The Supreme Court on August 4 had stayed Gandhi’s conviction in a defamation case against him. A Surat court had earlier found him guilty and handed him the maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment — leading to his disqualification from the Lok Sabha.
Also Read:SC stays Rahul’s conviction in ‘Modi surname’ defamation case
The Gujarat High Court had refused to stay the conviction, after which Gandhi had appealed in the Supreme Court. In a big win for Rahul Gandhi, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed conviction of the former Congress President in the ‘Modi surname’ defamation case, which cost him his Lok Sabha membership, saying that no reasons were given by the trial judge for imposing the maximum punishment of two years in the case.
“If a constituency in Parliament goes unrepresented, is it not a relevant ground (to suspend conviction)? No whisper by the trial judge for the need to impose the maximum sentence. Not only the right of one individual is being affected, but the entire electorate of the constituency,” observed a bench comprising of Justices B.R. Gavai, P.S. Narasimha, and Prashant Kumar Mishra during the hearing.
Further, the bench remarked that had Gandhi been awarded a sentence of 1 year, 11 months and 29 days, he would have been not disqualified as a Member of Parliament.
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