The disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from Lok Sabha has drawn attention to a particular Act that has been utilised to remove 42 members from Parliament since 1988. Among them, the 14th Lok Sabha saw the removal of 19 lawmakers related to the cash-for-query scandal and cross-voting.Lawmakers have been disqualified from Parliament for various reasons such as switching political parties, engaging in conduct unbecoming of a parliamentarian, and being convicted by a court for crimes that carry a jail sentence of two years or more.The recent disqualification of Rahul Gandhi, Mohammad Faizal P P, and Afzal Ansari from their respective parties came after they were convicted by courts and sentenced to more than two years in jail. This disqualification was done under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, which mandates automatic disqualification of Members of Parliament (MPs) and state legislators upon being convicted and sentenced for two years or more in a criminal case.Faizal, who is a Lok Sabha member representing Lakshadweep, had his disqualification revoked after he obtained a stay from the Kerala High Court on his conviction and sentence in a case related to attempted murder.Image source: https: mm.bing.netIn the case of Gandhi, he has approached the Gujarat High Court seeking relief in a criminal defamation case related to the use of the “Modi surname.” He had been sentenced to two years in jail by a Surat court.The first instance of disqualification of a Lok Sabha member under the anti-defection law, which was enacted in 1985, occurred when Lalduhoma, a Congress member, contested the Mizoram Assembly elections as a candidate of the Mizo National Union, a party he founded.The anti-defection law led to the disqualification of nine Lok Sabha members during the ninth Lok Sabha, when the coalition government was formed by V P Singh. However, the highest number of lawmakers were expelled during the 14th Lok Sabha. Ten of them were ousted for accepting bribes to raise questions in Parliament, while nine were disqualified for cross-voting during the Vote of Confidence when the UPA-I government sought support from the House in July 2008 after the Left front withdrew their support over the civil nuclear deal with the US.In 2005, six members of BJP, two from BSP, one from Congress, and one from RJD were expelled from Lok Sabha in relation to the cash for query scam. Additionally, one member from BSP was also expelled from the Rajya Sabha.Image Source: mm.bing.netAccording to Devendra Singh Aswal, a former Additional Secretary of Lok Sabha, the expulsions of the lawmakers mentioned earlier were confirmed by the Supreme Court, and the approval of the President was not required as the power to expel rested with the legislature itself. During the 10th Lok Sabha, which was led by Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, four members were disqualified under the anti-defection law. In addition, the Rajya Sabha has also witnessed disqualifications of members under the anti-defection law, such as Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and Satyapal Malik in 1989, and Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar in 2017.Shibu Soren, a leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and Jaya Bachchan, a member of the Samajwadi Party, were both disqualified from the Rajya Sabha – Soren in 2001 and Bachchan in 2006 – for holding an office of profit. Soren was serving as the Chairman of the Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council, while Bachchan was the Chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council.A disqualification petition had been filed against Sonia Gandhi, the then President of the Congress Party, for holding the position of Chairperson of the National Advisory Council, which was deemed an office of profit. However, the petition became moot when Gandhi resigned as a member of the Lok Sabha.In 2006, the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, was amended retrospectively from April 4, 1959, to avoid potential political turmoil. This made similar petitions ineffective. According to Aswal, who is a member of the Bar Council of India, this was done to prevent disqualifications of lawmakers convicted of crimes carrying a sentence of two years or more. In the Lily Thomas case, the Supreme Court judgement clarified that an elected representative would be disqualified automatically if convicted for a crime carrying a sentence of two years or more.According to Aswal, “The only responsibility of the Lok Sabha Secretariat is to issue a notification to declare the vacancy, so that the Election Commission can initiate the by-election process.”Following the judgment, Congress Rajya Sabha member Rasheed Masood was disqualified from the upper house due to his conviction in a corruption case. Similarly, RJD leader Lalu Prasad and JD(U) member Jagdish Sharma were disqualified from the Lok Sabha after their conviction in the fodder scam case.
