Disqualification of a Sitting Lawmaker ( UPSC Prelims)

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News Context

A Karnataka Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) was disqualified in accordance with Article 191 of the Constitution and Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1951 following a conviction by a CBI court for involvement in an illegal mining case, resulting in a vacancy in the constituency.

Constitutional Provisions

Articles 102 and 191 outline the conditions under which a Member of Parliament (MP) or Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) can face disqualification. These conditions include:
      ○ Holding an Office of Profit
      ○ Being declared a person of unsound mind by a competent court
      ○ Being an undischarged insolvent
      ○ Not being a citizen of India or having voluntarily acquired citizenship of a foreign state
  ● Defection  
      ○ Being disqualified by or under any law enacted by Parliament

Existing Legal and Judicial Framework for Disqualification after crimes

RPA, 1951: According to Section 8(3) of the RPA, legislators are disqualified from contesting elections or continuing in office upon conviction for certain criminal offenses with imprisonment of two years or more. This includes convictions for two years or more in crimes such as bribery, rape, promoting enmity, untouchability, corruption, disloyalty, etc.
 Lily Thomas v Union of India, 2013: The Supreme Court ruled that a lawmaker is immediately disqualified upon such a conviction.
 Manoj Narula v. Union of India, 2014: The Court held that appointing Ministers with criminal backgrounds is not legally barred, but advised the Prime Minister to avoid selecting individuals with serious criminal antecedents.
 PIL of Public Interest Foundation, 2018: Courts cannot add new disqualification grounds. It recommended that Parliament ensure political parties revoke membership and deny tickets to candidates with serious criminal cases.