Cabinet to mull ordinance on convicted legislators on Oct 2

The Cabinet Ministers will meet on October 2 to decide on the ordinance on convicted legislators. The Union Cabinet had on Tuesday cleared an ordinance which allows convicted and jailed MPs and MLAs to contest elections.

Also read: Ordinance to shield convicted leaders nonsense: Rahul

Hovever, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has forced the Congress to rethink on the ordinance after he called it a 'nonsense' and 'should by torn and thrown away'. "All parties do this because of political considerations and we must stop making compromises," Rahul had said.

The ordinance is a reversal of the Supreme Court judgement that had not only disqualified lawmakers convicted of offences with 2 years or more in jail but also also barred from contesting elections.

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The ordinance will allow convicted legislators to continue in office, if the appeal against the conviction is admitted by a higher court within 90 days. The ordinance says that if a lawmaker appeals his conviction or the sentence is stayed by a higher court, he can attend Parliament/ state Assemblies but cannot draw salaries or vote. In a landmark ruling the Supreme Court had on July 10, 2013 struck down the legal provision that protects a lawmaker from disqualification even after conviction in a criminal case.

The Supreme Court ruled that MPs or MLAs shall stand disqualified from holding the membership of the house from the date of conviction in a trial court. The court held Section 8(4) of the Representation of the Peoples Act as ultra vires. The section allows a convicted lawmaker to remain in office till the pendency of appeal.