Rahul Gandhi disqualified: What this means, what happens next?

Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi’s membership of Parliament has been cancelled following his conviction and sentencing by a local court in Surat on Thursday. A notification issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Friday said Rahul “stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 23 March, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951”.

A copy of the notification was forwarded to “Shri Rahul Gandhi, Ex-MP”.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge with leaders of other Opposition parties during a protest in New Delhi on Friday. Anil Sharma

Why has the Lok Sabha Secretariat issued this notification?

It is part of the procedure. In a note on October 13, 2015, the Election Commission of India had asked state chief secretaries to issue appropriate instructions to the department dealing with prosecutions to ensure that cases of conviction of sitting MPs or MLAs were brought to the notice of the Speaker or Chairman of the House, and to the Chief Electoral Officer of the state, along with the order of conviction within seven days of the order.

Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 states that “a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.”

Thus, the disqualification is triggered by the conviction itself, and not by the Lok Sabha notification. The notification is merely a formal notice to Rahul, who was in Lok Sabha on Friday before the House was adjourned.

In the case of a disqualified MLA, the notice is issued by the Vidhan Sabha concerned. For example, in the case of Samajwadi Party MLA Azam Khan, the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Secretariat issued the notice of disqualification in October last year.

Is the authority of the Speaker final in this regard?

The Supreme Court in its ruling in Lok Prahari v Union of India (2018) clarified that a disqualification triggered by a conviction will be reversed if the conviction is stayed by a court. “Once the conviction has been stayed during the pendency of an appeal, the disqualification which operates as a consequence of the conviction cannot take or remain in effect,” the ruling said.

The notification by the House Secretariat regarding Rahul will cease to be in effect if and when his conviction is stayed.

What are Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution and Section 8 of the RP Act?

Article 102 of the Constitution deals with grounds for disqualification of a parliamentarian.

Sub-clause (e) of Article 102(1) says an MP will lose his membership of the House “if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament”. The law in this case is the RP Act.

Section 8 of the RP Act deals with disqualification of a lawmaker for conviction in certain offences. The provision is aimed at “preventing criminalisation of politics and keeping ‘tainted’ lawmakers from contesting elections.

What does Rahul lose along with his membership of Lok Sabha?

As a Lok Sabha MP, Rahul was entitled to a house in Lutyens’ Delhi. Following his disqualification, he will have one month to vacate his 12 Tughlak Lane home, according to sources in the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry. Rahul had been allotted the house after being elected MP from Amethi in 2004.