What the Centre proposed, a regional party in Haryana has disposed by being the first to challenge the apex court’s twin rulings that created a sensation as it barred convicted and jailed members of legislative bodies to continue in office.
One Ramesh Dalal, who runs a party by the name Haryana Swatantra Party filed two review petitions against the July 10 orders where the court held Section 8(4) of Representation of Peoples Act as constitutionally invalid and by another stroke of the brush directed that a voter who for some offence is jailed will not have a right to vote under the RP Act and this disqualification as an elector will disentitle him to contest the elections to the House of People and State legislatures.
In public interest, Dalal claimed that order on Section 8(4) virtually would unseat a democratically elected member affecting the functioning of the House and forcing a by-election, for which even the Election Commission requires a minimum of six months. Section 8(4) allowed MPs/MlAs to continue in office by filing appeal on being convicted for an offence with more than two year sentence. Dalal said that the provision was to protect functioning of House and not give advantage to convicted legislators.
On the other decision, Dalal said that right to vote, a statutory right, should not be confused with right to be a voter which is a fundamental right. The intent of the Act was not to disqualify contesting elections but to vote in elections, he said. The SC order could prove to be a weapon for Governments of the day to arrest members of the Opposition parties and this would only promote criminalisation than arrest it, the petition added.