politics | india politics

Although they are said to be receiving overtures from both sides, three of the six jailed MPs legally have little incentive to look beyond the term of the 14th Lok Sabha.
Umakant Yadav, Ateeq Ahmad and Afzal Ansari can afford to weigh their options with an eye on the next election as they are still only facing trial. On the other hand, Pappu Yadav, Suraj Bhan and Mohammad Shahabuddin have already been convicted over the last year or so for serious offences like murder and kidnapping.
The convicted MPs have been able to retain their seats because Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act saves them from being disqualified till each of their appeals is “disposed of by the court.”
The benefit of this section, however, comes with a short expiry date. Or so the Supreme Court interpreted three years ago in K Prabhakaran vs P Jayaraman, when it said a convicted MP could avert disqualification “only so long as the House continues to exist and the person continues to be a member of a House.’’ The immunity ceases to apply if the House is dissolved or the person ceases to be a member of the House.
This means that once the 14th Lok Sabha is dissolved, the three convicted MPs cannot contest elections again till their appeals are upheld or, alternatively, they serve out their sentences and wait for another six years to get over the period of disqualification.