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Supreme Court to hear plea of disqualified Lakshadweep MP seeking permission to attend Lok Sabha tomorrow

The Supreme Court on Tuesday listed a fresh petition filed by disqualified Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal seeking permission to attend the Lok Sabha for hearing on March 29.

The Counsel appearing for the petitioner apprised the Bench of Justice K.M. Joseph and Justice B.V. Nagarathna that the Speaker today did not allow Faizal to sit in the Parliament. He sought instructions to the Speaker to withdraw the disqualification order.

The Apex Court, while noting that the plea was under Article 32, asked the lawyer as to which fundamental right was violated?

The Counsel replied that the MP’s right to represent his constituency had been violated.

The Bench asked whether it was a fundamental right? It further told the Counsel to approach the High Court under Article 226.

The lawyer then requested for taking up the petition tomorrow. The Supreme Court agreed and listed the same for hearing tomorrow.

Earlier on Monday, the Apex Court had agreed to list the petition, which sought permission to attend the Lok Sabha as his conviction has been stayed for March 28.

In his latest petition, Faizal has challenged the refusal of the Lok Sabha Secretariat to withdraw the decision to disqualify him, even after his conviction has been stayed by the High Court.

The matter was yesterday mentioned by Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi before Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud seeking urgent listing.

He submitted that the Supreme Court has refused to stay the Kerala High Court’s decision, which has suspended Faizal’s conviction. Despite that, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has not revoked his disqualification.

He added that the petition filed by the Lakshadweep Administration against the High Court’s order would come up for hearing before a Bench led by Justice K.M. Joseph tomorrow on March 28.

The CJI agreed to list the present matter along with the connected petition.

On January 11, 2023, a Sessions Court in Lakshadweep had convicted the NCP MP and three others to ten years imprisonment in an attempt to murder case relating to an incident of 2009. Following the conviction, Faizal, a two-time MP from the island, was disqualified and the Election Commission had announced by-polls to the constituency.

On January 25, the Kerala High Court had suspended Faizal’s conviction, while expressing concerns over the wasteful expenditure of a by-poll, especially when the term of the Lok Sabha was set to expire within one and a half year. 

The Single-Judge Bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas had also noted that no dangerous weapons were found to have been used by the accused in the case and that the wound certificates did not indicate any serious injuries.

Following the suspension of conviction, the Election Commission had decided not to act in furtherance of the press note for by-elections. The Lakshadweep administration had moved the Supreme Court against the High Court order. However on February 20, the Bench of Justice K.M. Joseph and Justice B.V. Nagarathna had refused to stay the High Court order.

In the latest petition, Faizal has contended that the refusal of the Lok Sabha to reinstate him was contrary to the Supreme Court’s decision in Lok Prahari case, which held that once the conviction was stayed, the disqualification would also get suspended.

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