Rahul's parliament membership was not canceled under the rules

Rahul Gandhi: On March 23, 2023, the Sessions Court of Surat held Congress leader Rahul Gandhi guilty in a defamation case and sentenced him to 2 years imprisonment. The very next day, on March 24, the Lok Sabha secretariat canceled Rahul's parliament membership on the basis of this decision. Questions were raised on this action of the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The legal team of Congress is preparing to go to court against it. We talked to PDT Acharya, who was the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha on these questions. The Secretary General of the Lok Sabha is the highest ranking officer in the country at the level of the Cabinet Secretary. He is the biggest officer of the Government of India. PDT Acharya has also raised questions on this decision.

Question: What do the rules say about the decision to cancel the membership of Rahul Gandhi? Was the haste in which the Lok Sabha Secretariat issued the notice correct?

PDT Acharya: Membership of a Member of Parliament is canceled under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act-1951. Under this rule, when a member is convicted in a criminal case and gets a sentence of 2 years or more, his membership is cancelled.

Under the rule, membership can be canceled from the day the member is convicted. Rahul Gandhi's Parliament membership has also been canceled under this section, but it has to be understood properly.

Section 8(3) for a convicted MP says 'He/She shall be disqualified', not 'He/She shall stand disqualified', which would mean that as soon as the judge signed the judgment of conviction, from that moment the Member of Parliament was disqualified.

'He shall be disqualified' means that the decision of the court will disqualify someone from membership of Parliament, some authority will disqualify him. The order of disqualification of the MP will be considered effective only from the date of his conviction in the court.

Question: The judge has suspended the sentence of Rahul Gandhi for 30 days. He was given time to appeal in the High Court, so is it right to be in a hurry to cancel the membership?

PDT Acharya: I did not like this decision either. Mere conviction does not disqualify a Member of Parliament. Membership goes away only if the conviction is accompanied by a sentence of 2 years or more. The judge suspended the sentence for 30 days, so the disqualification made no sense. From the point of view of law, there are flaws in this decision.

Question: What is the role of the President in canceling the membership of an MP, was it followed in the case of Rahul Gandhi?

PDT Acharya: It is written in section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act-1951 that 'He shall be disqualified' which means that only an authority will disqualify the member. To understand who is this authority, we have to look at Article-103 of the Constitution.

According to Article-103, whenever a question arises about the membership of a Member of Parliament, it will be referred to the President and the President will decide on it. The President will also ask the Election Commission before taking a decision and the President will decide on the opinion of the Election Commission.

This means that when there is a dispute, then the President will intervene in it. In Article-102, it has been told that on what grounds a Member of Parliament can be disqualified, it has been told that under the Representation of the People Act, the President will take a decision on the member whose membership is to be cancelled.

Question: Does the Lok Sabha Secretariat not taking the advice of the President, raises questions on this whole process, does this mistake seem to be done deliberately?

PDT Acharya: It is clear that there has been a mistake in taking the decision. The Lok Sabha Secretariat did not even send this case to the President for suggestion. The Lok Sabha Secretariat is not the decision authority in this matter.

The Secretariat should have told the President about the case that Rahul Gandhi has been found guilty in a defamation case and has been sentenced to two years, should Rahul Gandhi's membership be canceled in such a case or not? After this, the Lok Sabha Secretariat could issue the notice only after the decision of the President. The Lok Sabha Secretariat itself has taken the decision in the whole matter, it is beyond their jurisdiction.

Question: You yourself have been the Lok Sabha Secretary General, does this appear to be a decision taken under political pressure?

PDT Acharya: I do not want to comment on this. I have followed all the rules very well during my tenure also.

Question: Will the case against this decision be able to stand in the court?

PDT Acharya: It can definitely be challenged in the court. The decision of the Lok Sabha Secretariat is not according to the Constitution.

Question: Kerala High Court has stayed the sentence of NCP MP Mohammad Faizal, his membership has been restored, can Rahul Gandhi's membership also be restored?

PDT Acharya: After the stay granted by the High Court, his membership should have been automatically restored, but it did not happen. This case seems strange. It is strange that this should not happen after the sentence is suspended.

Question: If Rahul Gandhi gets relief from the big court, in how many days the membership will be restored?

PDT Acharya: As soon as Rahul Gandhi gets relief from the upper court, along with that his membership in the Lok Sabha will be restored. Suppose if the higher court reverses the CJM's decision, the Lok Sabha secretariat will automatically issue a notification and Rahul's membership will be restored.

Question: Did any case of suspension of membership of MPs also come up during your tenure?

PDT Acharya: I have not seen any such case during my tenure. This is unique in itself. Many members have been expelled from membership several times. I can't remember any such case where the membership of an MP has been lost and the court has given a stay.

Question: How much political pressure is there in the way the Lok Sabha Secretariat functions?

PDT Acharya: The Lok Sabha Secretariat has been created under Article-98 of the Constitution. It is a completely autonomous organization and does not come under the government. The reins of the Lok Sabha Secretariat are in the hands of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

The Vice-President is the Sarvesarva for the Rajya Sabha. These secretariats have nothing to do with the government directly. According to the law, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats work in an impartial manner and their image has remained impartial till now.

Question: Has the impartiality of the Parliament Secretariat been hurt by the Rahul Gandhi case?

PDT Acharya: I will not use the word hurt, but this kind of cancellation process has raised many important questions. We have to find the answers within the system.

Rahul has not yet reached the court against the decision

After the reinstatement of NCP MP from Lakshadweep Mohammad Faizal, the hopes for Rahul Gandhi have also increased. However, Rahul Gandhi has not yet challenged the Surat court's decision in the higher court. Parties like TMC, SP, AAP and Shiv Sena have come openly in support of Congress on this issue. Congress is working on further strengthening this unity.

After the decision of the Surat court on March 22, senior Supreme Court lawyer and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, in a press conference, had pointed out various flaws in the announcement of the sentence, but the non-action of the upper court so far is raising questions. .