India's Rahul Gandhi disqualified as MP: What could be the Congress leader's next step

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified as a member of parliament, a day after a court in Gujarat’s Surat convicted him in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his alleged remarks on the “Modi surname”.

As per an NDTV report, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has also declared his Wayanad constituency vacant.

“Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad parliamentary constituency of Kerala stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction ie 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,” the Lok Sabha Secretariat said in a notification today (24 March).

The Election Commission can now call for a special election for the Wayanad seat.

Congress has denounced the disqualification and called it a “conspiracy” to silence Gandhi, who has raised questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his alleged ties to billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani.

मोदी सरकार को सबसे ज़्यादा डर श्री @RahulGandhi व कांग्रेस पार्टी से लगता है।

लोकतंत्र की हत्या करने लिए उन्होंने श्री गाँधी की संसद सदस्यता रद्द की है।वो सच बोलने वालों का मुँह बंद करना चाहते हैं।

देशवासी ये तानाशाही नहीं सहेंगे।
लोकतंत्र की हिफ़ाज़त के लिए हम जेल तक जाएँगे। pic.twitter.com/bxvwwJik5U

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) March 24, 2023

Adani Group has found itself in the middle of a controversy following allegations of stock manipulation and fraud. The Opposition parties, including Congress, have been demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe into these allegations.

Adani Group has denied allegations of financial fraud.

Why was Rahul Gandhi disqualified and what can he do next? We explain.

Rahul Gandhi’s conviction

Gandhi was found guilty of defamation over his alleged “why do all thieves have the name Modi” remark by the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma under sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

He was sentenced to two years in prison, but moments later, the Surat court granted the Congress leader bail on a surety of Rs 15,000 and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal.

The criminal defamation case was filed by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Purnesh Modi who claimed Gandhi had made the remarks during a rally in Karnataka’s Kolar on 13 April 2019 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections that year.

Disqualification rules

A legislator can be disqualified in three scenarios. According to Articles 102(1) and 191(1), which pertain to the disqualification of an MP and a member of the Legislative Assembly respectively, the lawmakers can lose their seat if they hold office of profit, are of unsound mind or are insolvent, or do not have valid citizenship.

The other way a lawmaker can be disqualified is through the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with defection.

The Representation of The People Act (RPA), 1951 stipulates disqualification for conviction in criminal cases.

What does RPA state?

The RPA has several provisions that deal with disqualification.

Section 8 of the RPA aims at “preventing criminalisation of politics” and disallowing “tainted” legislators from contesting elections.

Section 8(1) of the RPA includes removal as a lawmaker due to conviction under certain offences such as promoting enmity between two groups, bribery, and undue influence or personation at an election. As per Indian Express, defamation is not included in these offences.

The offences listed under Section 8(2) are hoarding or profiteering, adulteration of food or drugs as well as conviction and sentence of at least six months under any provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

According to Section 8(3), “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.”

Earlier, Section 8(4) of the RPA stated that disqualification can be imposed only “after three months have elapsed” from the date of conviction. However, in the 2013 verdict in ‘Lily Thomas v Union of India’, the Supreme Court revoked this section, calling it “unconstitutional”.

The 2013 landmark order says that any lawmaker convicted and sentenced to two or more years in prison will stand disqualified as an MP with immediate effect, noted BBC. 

ALSO READ: Meet Purnesh Modi, the man whose defamation complaint led to Rahul Gandhi’s two-year sentence

What legal remedy can Rahul Gandhi avail?

The Grand Old Party plans to fight Gandhi’s disqualification “both legally and politically”.

Now, the Congress leader has to appeal in a higher court and get an immediate stay on his conviction if he wants to get his disqualification reversed, legal experts told News18.

He will first have to appeal before the Surat Sessions Court under Section 374 of the  Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), as per Indian Express.

A higher court will have to stay his conviction and not merely suspend his sentence. “If it (the court) only suspends the sentence, that’s not enough. There has to be a suspension or stay of conviction. He (Rahul Gandhi) can stay on as a member of parliament only if there is a stay on the conviction,” former Union law minister Kapil Sibal told NDTV. 

Gandhi can then file a writ petition before the Gujarat High Court challenging his disqualification from the Parliament.

If his conviction is not suspended or he is not acquitted in the defamation case by any higher court, Gandhi will not be able to contest elections for the next eight years. The next general elections are due in 2024.

As per News18 sources, Gandhi is likely to be asked to vacate his government bungalow in central Delhi.

Meanwhile, Congress has questioned the legality of the move, saying only the President can disqualify MPs in consultation with the Election Commission.

However, BJP has backed the decision of the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

With inputs from agencies

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