Rahul or his representative will have to show a copy of the Supreme Court order staying his conviction to the Lok Sabha Secretariat to set the ball rolling for revocation of his disqualification as an MP.
Former Lok Sabha secretary general P D T Achari said that once the secretariat gets the order, it would initiate the process to issue a notification revoking his disqualification.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who fought the case for Rahul in the Gujarat high court and the Supreme Court, hoped that the former party president would be reinstated with grace and without delay.
He hoped Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal Padippura’s case would not be repeated in Rahul’s case. He said the Lok Sabha kept delaying his reinstatement despite the stay on his conviction. He moved the apex court again, this time for his reinstatement. However, just before the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the petition, the government rushed in and said it will reinstate Padippura.
Singhvi said, “We hope and trust we do not have to do it again in Rahul’s case. We hope the government shows grace and reinstates him soon.”
He informed that a copy of the judgment should come by evening and hoped that Rahul should be reinstated by August 7. “Otherwise, it would be seen as mala fide.”
He said any move by the Lok Sabha to seek further opinion would be seen as an excuse. “They did not seek any opinion while disqualifying him,” he added.
After being convicted and sentenced to two years in jail by a Gujarat court in a defamation case, Gandhi was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member on March 23. He represented Wayanad (Kerala) in the Lower House of Parliament.
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed his conviction in the 2019 defamation case over his Modi surname remark.
A three-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, P S Narasimha and Sanjay Kumar said no reason was given by the trial court judge while convicting Gandhi except that he was admonished by the apex court in a contempt case.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla after the Supreme Court relief to urge him to restore Gandhi’s membership at the earliest.
(With agency inputs)