NEW DELHI, Mar 24: On being disqualified as a Member of Parliament, the former Congress president Rahul Gandhi joins the ignominious list of some dozen-odd MPs and MLAs who have suffered disqualification on conviction from courts in various cases in the recent past.
According to the Representation of the People Act, a person sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more shall be disqualified “from the date of such conviction” and remain disqualified for another six years after serving time.
Among the lawmakers suspended upon conviction and sentencing in criminal cases was the former Bihar chief minister and union minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. The RJD supremo was disqualified from the Lok Sabha after his conviction in the fodder scam case in September 2013. He was an MP from Saran in Bihar.
J Jayalalithaa: AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa was disqualified from the Tamil Nadu Assembly in September 2014 after she was sentenced to four years in jail in a disproportionate assets case. She was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu at the time of her disqualification and had to resign from the post.
P P Mohammed Faizal: Lakshadweep MP P P Mohammed Faisal of the Nationalist Congress Party stood automatically disqualified after he was sentenced to 10 years in jail in January 2023 in connection with an attempt to murder case. However, the Kerala High Court later suspended his conviction and sentence. According to the MP, the Lok Sabha Secretariat is yet to issue a notification revoking his disqualification.
Azam Khan: Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan was disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in October 2022 after a court sentenced him to three years in jail in a 2019 hate speech case. He represented Rampur Sadar in the Assembly.
Anil Kumar Sahni: RJD MLA Anil Kumar Sahni was disqualified from the Bihar Assembly in October 2022 after he was sentenced to three years in jail in a case of fraud. He represented the Kurhani assembly seat.
He was held guilty of attempting to avail travel allowance in 2012 using forged Air India e-tickets without having undertaken the journeys. Sahni, who was a JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP at the time of the attempted fraud, had submitted claims of ₹ 23.71 lakh.
Vikram Singh Saini: BJP MLA Vikram Singh Saini was disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly with effect from October 2022 after he was sentenced to two years of imprisonment in a 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case. Saini was an MLA from Khatauli in Muzaffarnagar.
Pradeep Chaudhary: Congress MLA Pradeep Chaudhary was disqualified from the Haryana Assembly in January 2021 after he was sentenced to a three-year jail term in an assault case. He was an MLA from Kalka.
Kuldeep Singh Sengar: Kuldeep Singh Sengar was disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in February 2020 following his conviction in a rape case. Sengar, who was elected from the Bangarmau constituency in Unnao, was earlier expelled by the BJP.
Abdullah Azam Khan: Samajwadi Party MLA Abdullah Azam Khan was disqualified from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in February 2023, days after a court sentenced him to two-year imprisonment in a 15-year-old case. He represented Suar in Rampur district in the Assembly.
The case against Abdullah Azam Khan, the son of Azam Khan, pertained to a dharna on a highway after his cavalcade was stopped by police for checking following an attack on a CRPF camp in Rampur on December 31, 2007.
Anant Singh: RJD MLA Anant Singh was disqualified from the Bihar Assembly in July 2022 after being convicted in a case related to the recovery of arms and ammunition from his residence. Singh was an MLA from Mokama in Patna district.
(Manas Dasgupta)
