Surat court verdict impact; Rahul Gandhi disqualified as Lok Sabha member

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified as Lok Sabha member following his conviction in a defamation case by the Surat court. Rahul has been sentenced to 2 years in jail in a defamation case. Though the sentence has been suspended for 30 days so that Rahul can file an appeal in a higher court, the conviction has not been stayed, and therefore as per the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the constitution of India with section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 23 March 2023.

A notification in this regard is issued by Utpal Kumar Singh, Secretary General of Lok Sabha Secretariat.

Rahul’s disqualification shall be revoked only if he can get his conviction stayed in the higher court. The Surat court has suspended the sentence against Rahul for 30 days so that he can appeal in the higher court. Rahul will need to get his conviction suspended, stayed, overturned or his sentence reduced from 2 years in higher courts before elections to contest as a candidate.

Technically, Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as MP the moment the court convicted him and sentenced two years. It’s just that the official notification came today. Rahul has been disqualified under the same Law which he had protected in 2013 to show himself a hero and above then PM Manmohan Singh. DeshGujarat

Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified from his membership of Lok Sabha 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.
Read the provisions under which Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified: pic.twitter.com/CaiVu8VXHb

— Kanchan Gupta 🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) March 24, 2023

When Rahul Gandhi took (fake) moral high ground and tore the Ordinance that could have saved him today. He should take similar moral high ground now and say he accepts the disqualification as he had endorsed the 2013 judgement and it is equally applicable to him.

But he won’t… pic.twitter.com/XGK1BJorUV

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) March 24, 2023