Mohammed Faizal moves SC against non-withdrawal of notification disqualifying him as MP
New Delhi, Mar 25: Disqualified Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal has moved the Supreme Court against the Lok Sabha Secretariat for not withdrawing a notification disqualifying him as a Member of Parliament upon his conviction and 10-year sentence, which was later stayed by the Kerala High Court.
Faizal stood disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from January 11, the date of his conviction in an attempt to murder case by a sessions court in Kavaratti, according to a notification issued on January 13 by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
In his petition filed in the apex court through advocate K R Sasiprabhu, Faizal said the L S Secretariat failed to withdraw the notification despite the fact that his conviction was stayed by the high court on January 25.
"The petitioner is constrained to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, against the unlawful inaction on the part of the respondent, Secretary General of the Lok Sabha Secretariat in not withdrawing the notification dated January 13, 2023, whereby the petitioner was disqualified from his membership of Parliament from the Lakshadweep parliamentary constituency," the plea said.
It further claimed that the respondent's inaction is in the "teeth of the settled law" that disqualification incurred by a Member of Parliament (MP) under section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, ceases to operate if the conviction is stayed by the appellate court under section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
"It is pertinent to note that the Election Commission, by taking note of the correct legal position, recalled the by-election press note dated January 18, 2023," it said.
The plea said the Lok Sabha Secretariat has not revoked the disqualification notification despite various representations and Faizal was denied participation in the Budget Session of the Parliament as well as the ongoing session.
The trial court had on January 11 convicted and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment in the case.
Later, the high court stayed the conviction and the sentence imposed upon Faizal, who filed an appeal against the trial court verdict.
In January, the Union Territory (UT) of Lakshadweep moved the apex court challenging the January 25 order of the high court which had suspended his conviction and sentence till the disposal of the appeal before it.
On February 20, the top court had issued notice to Faizal and others on the plea filed by Lakshadweep.
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Maharashtra: All files to be vetted by Shinde before being sent to CM Fadnavis
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has ordered that all files will now go through Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde before being presented to CM Devendra Fadnavis for approval.
The moves seeks to revive an arrangement which existed in 2023 of files being vetted by the then two deputy CMs --Ajit Pawar and Fadnavis -- before being forwarded to then CM Shinde.
State Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik issued an order to this effect on March 18. "Since July 26, 2023, files were moved from Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who holds the finance department, to (then) Deputy CM Fadnavis, who held the home, law and judiciary departments before being sent to (then) CM Shinde for approval," as per the order.
This arrangement was made after Pawar, who was then leader of opposition in the state assembly, joined the Shinde-led government along with a several NCP MLAs on July 2, 2023.
Now, with Fadnavis taking charge as chief minister, following the victory of the Mahayuti (comprising BJP, Shinde's Shiv Sena and Pawar-led NCP) in the state polls last year, the arrangement has been changed.
All files will be routed from Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who continues to hold the finance department, to Eknath Shinde, who is also the deputy CM and holds housing and urban development portfolios.
The files will be sent to Fadnavis after Shinde's approval, as per the latest order.
Since the Mahayuti 2.0 took over, there has been speculation of a "cold war" between Shinde and Fadnavis. Both the leaders have strongly denied the speculation.
There have been disagreements over the guardian minister posts of some districts. Fadnavis had to revoke his decision on the appointment of guardian ministers of Nashik and Raigad districts after objections from Shinde.
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