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The BJP too was guarded in its reaction. "The party will go through the judgment in detail and will come out with a structured response," said the BJP's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Though the RPA bars a convicted person from contesting elections, the exception carved out under Section 8(4) of the RPA had till now allowed a convicted law-maker to complete his five-year tenure unless his or her appeal is dismissed earlier. It was beyond the power of Parliament to defer the date from which the disqualification will come into effect in the case of sitting MPs and MLAs, the court said, making it clear that the ruling would hold supreme.
The disqualification will, however, not come into effect for sitting MPs and MLAs convicted before the delivery of the verdict. An MP or an MLA will automatically incur disqualification under sub-sections (1), (2) and (3) of Section 8 if he is convicted henceforth. A stay on conviction by an appellate court will, however, protect their membership. This was seen as a grey area by many politicians.
"What if a legislator is convicted by a lower court and is let off by a higher court at a later date. In the interregnum, he will have to forego the membership of the Lok Sabha or state Assembly, and a re-election held. How will his membership be restored if he is acquitted at a later stage?" asked a prominent lawyer-turned-politician on condition of anonymity.
He felt that the order was liable to be misused by the party in power. The apex court, however, was unrelenting.
"If because of a disqualification a person cannot be chosen as a member of Parliament or state legislature, for the same disqualification he cannot continue as an MP or the state legislature," the bench observed.
Though Parliament is empowered to make a law providing for disqualification of MPs and MLAs, the court said it could not make "different laws for a person to be disqualified for being chosen as a member and for a person to be
The BJP too was guarded in its reaction. "The party will go through the judgment in detail and will come out with a structured response," said the BJP's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Though the RPA bars a convicted person from contesting elections, the exception carved out under Section 8(4) of the RPA had till now allowed a convicted law-maker to complete his five-year tenure unless his or her appeal is dismissed earlier. It was beyond the power of Parliament to defer the date from which the disqualification will come into effect in the case of sitting MPs and MLAs, the court said, making it clear that the ruling would hold supreme.
The disqualification will, however, not come into effect for sitting MPs and MLAs convicted before the delivery of the verdict. An MP or an MLA will automatically incur disqualification under sub-sections (1), (2) and (3) of Section 8 if he is convicted henceforth. A stay on conviction by an appellate court will, however, protect their membership. This was seen as a grey area by many politicians.
"What if a legislator is convicted by a lower court and is let off by a higher court at a later date. In the interregnum, he will have to forego the membership of the Lok Sabha or state Assembly, and a re-election held. How will his membership be restored if he is acquitted at a later stage?" asked a prominent lawyer-turned-politician on condition of anonymity.
He felt that the order was liable to be misused by the party in power. The apex court, however, was unrelenting.
"If because of a disqualification a person cannot be chosen as a member of Parliament or state legislature, for the same disqualification he cannot continue as an MP or the state legislature," the bench observed.
Though Parliament is empowered to make a law providing for disqualification of MPs and MLAs, the court said it could not make "different laws for a person to be disqualified for being chosen as a member and for a person to be