The Supreme Court in its 2013 judgment had said that a lawmaker stands disqualified on conviction. This notwithstanding, because of delay in the notification on the part of legislative secretariat, the convicted legislator keeps enjoying the fruits of office. This matter came up before the Apex Court in the context of a petition asking the court to order immediate disqualification of a lawmaker once he is convicted in a criminal case. The Apex Court had sought the opinion of the Election Commission which endorsed the decision that a law maker should immediately be disqualified once he or she was convicted in any criminal case. If this proposition were put to public domain for opinion, we are confident that civil society would very much welcome the decision of the Apex Court. This question has arisen and has created a stir in the judicial fraternity because we are told that a good percentage of the lawmakers in the Indian Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies are persons who have been convicted in criminal cases.
We have said that people have welcomed the views of the Apex Court as well as the Election Commission. They believe that disqualification of tainted lawmakers would purge the Assembly and Parliament of unwanted and anti-social elements who have become a stumbling block in eradication of corruption in the administration. They expect the Apex Court to stand by its earlier views on the subject and give proper weight to the opinion expressed by the Election Commission that laws should be enacted that ensure disqualification of a lawmaker if convicted in a criminal case.
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