Govt plans to bar convicted MPs,MLAs from House

The ruling was,however,opposed by almost all major political parties.

A proposal by the law ministry,accessed by The Sunday Express,seeks to address the concerns of the politicians while satisfying the courts,activists and the public at the same time.

The ministry’s department of legislative affairs,which is the administrative department for the Election Commission of India (ECI),has sent a Cabinet note to the Law Commission suggesting amendments to the RPA.

However,the proposed amendments seem to fall well short of what the Supreme Court judgment mandates.

Among the amendments is one that proposes to debar a member of a legislature,who is convicted for a prison term of not less than two years and whose appeal against the conviction is pending before a higher court,from participating in the proceedings of the legislature until the appeal is disposed.

Another amendment,this one proposed in Section 8 of the RPA,proposes to disqualify any person against whom charges have been framed in a crime which carries a jail term of five or more years. However,the charges should have been framed by the court at least one year before the date of notification of the elections.

The ministry has also proposed that a politician convicted by any court for having filed a false affidavit should be disqualified from contesting elections for a period of three years from the date of the court order. At present,the maximum punishment for this crime is six months.

The proposed amendments have been sent to the Law Commission for its views as it is already considering the issue of electoral reforms. Law Minister Kapil Sibal is learnt to have requested commission chairperson Justice D K Jain (retd) to convey the commission’s views by July 31.

“The minister has requested the Law Commission to send its response at the earliest. This issue needs to be resolved as soon as possible,” disclosed a senior law ministry official.

Earlier this month,the Supreme Court had ruled that Parliament had exceeded its powers by enacting Section 8(4) of the RPA which allows a convicted lawmaker to remain a member of the legislature on the ground that his/her appeal against conviction has been filed and is pending.

The apex court had also held that a person who is in jail or in police custody cannot contest elections to any legislative body.

However,many legal experts have questioned the judgment,with some suggesting that the court should have referred the matter to a Constitution Bench.

“Once the Law Commission submits its report and if there is consensus among political parties,a Bill to amend the RPA could be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament,” said a source.