Article 102(1)(e) states that a person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament:
“(e) if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament.”
The law made by Parliament in question is Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which disqualifies representatives on conviction.
Section 8(3) of the Act states that when a person is convicted of any offence and sentenced to at least two years of imprisonment, she or he attracts disqualification.
The period of disqualification under the Act is stipulated to be six years from the release of the convict from prison.
However, sub-section (4) states,
“Notwithstanding anything [in sub-section (1), sub-section (2) or sub-section (3)] a disqualification under either subsection 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 until three months have elapsed from that date or, if within that period an appeal or application for revision is brought in respect of the conviction or the sentence, until that appeal or application is disposed of by the court.”
In effect, Gandhi ought to have been given three months from the date of conviction before his disqualification as an MP took effect. However, this provision is a nullity in light of a 2013 Supreme Court ruling.
Source: Barandbench
