Rahul Gandhi Lok Sabha disqualification: What is the Lily Thomas judgement?

Rahul Gandhi became the most high-profile Lok Sabha disqualification case since RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday, courtesy the Lily Thomas judgement. The Lok Sabha secretariat announced that the senior Congress leader was disqualified as a Member of Parliament from Wayanad seat a day after his conviction by a Surat court.

Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison over alleged defamatory remarks made in 2019. He was granted bail and given a suspended sentence with a month to appeal the conviction in a higher court. However, Gandhi lost his Parliamentarian status in the immediate aftermath, owing to a 2013 Supreme Court verdict on a petition filed by an 86-year-old lawyer called Lily Thomas.

What is the Lily Thomas verdict?

Famously known as the Lily Thomas judgement is a 2013 ruling by the SC in the Lily Thomas vs Union of India case. The apex court struck down, as "unconstitutional", Section 8(4) of the Representation of The People Act. As per the section of the RP Act, a sitting member of the House will not be disqualified from holding membership of the House if he/she is convicted of an offence punishable by more than two years in prison but files an appeal within three months of the conviction. 

With the verdict, the SC declared that an MP or an MLA would stand disqualified immediately upon his or her conviction. The Lily Thomas verdict meant that lawmakers would not be able to retain membership by simply filing an appeal but would need to secure a stay on their conviction in the case.

Rahul Gandhi in a unique situation?

Rahul Gandhi now faces a unique situation with two problems to solve. First is the disqualification as MP, which has come into effect in accordance with the Lily Thomas judgement. Second is the conviction, a stay on which will annul the Lok Sabha Secretariat notification of his disqualification. Experts believe he needs to challenge on both fronts.

In a 2013 ruling in the Lily Thomas vs Union of India case, the Supreme Court had struck down, as "unconstitutional", Section 8(4) of the Representation of The People Act, which stated that if a sitting member of the House is convicted of an offence punishable by more than two years in prison and files an appeal within three months of the conviction, he/she will not be disqualified from holding membership of the House.

This meant that for such lawmakers, simply filing an appeal would not be sufficient but they must secure a stay on their conviction in the case.

READ | Why Rahul Gandhi is no longer a Lok Sabha MP? What his disqualification means, how he can return as Parliamentarian