Lalu Prasad Yadav Disqualified from Lok Sabha Tuesday Oct 22,2013

RJD chief Lalu Prasad and JD(U) leader Jagdish Sharma have been disqualified as Lok Sabha members following their conviction in the fodder scam.

While Lalu Prasad Prasad stands disqualified for a total of 11 years — five years of jail term and six years subsequent to his release
Jagdish Sharma stands disqualified for ten years — four years in jail and six more years after that as per electoral laws

Lok Sabha Secretary General S. Bal Shekar has issued the notifications disqualifying Lalu and Sharma.

 The Election Commission has also been intimated about the disqualification and the subsequent creation of vacancies in the Lok Sabha

Theirs is the first disqualification from the Lok Sabha after the Supreme Court struck down a provision that protects a convicted lawmaker from disqualification on the ground of pendency of appeal in higher courts

 Note
1)In its July 10,2013 judgement, Supreme Court had struck down sub-section 4 of Section 8 of Representation of the People Act, under which incumbent MPs, MLAs and MLCs can avoid disqualification till pendency of the appeal against conviction in a higher court

2)Seeking to negate the SC verdict, government had introduced a Bill in Parliament in the Monsoon session. But following differences with the opposition, the bill could not be passed.

An ordinance on the lines of the Bill was later cleared by the Union Cabinet on September 24, to protect convicted lawmakers.But reversing its earlier step, the Cabinet on October 2 decided to withdraw the Ordinance as well as Bill in the wake of public outburst against it by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.