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In a recent development, the Supreme Court has imposed a penalty of ₹1 lakh on a Lucknow-based advocate who had filed a petition seeking the quashing of the August 7 notification restoring the Lok Sabha membership of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The membership was reinstated following a Supreme Court order staying his conviction in a 2019 criminal defamation case related to the use of the ‘Modi’ surname.
SC Fines lawyer for plea Against Restoring Rahul Gandhi’s LS membership. The bench, comprising Justices Bhushan R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta, deemed the petition as “frivolous,” emphasizing that such petitions not only waste the court’s valuable time but also the resources of the entire Supreme Court registry. The court expressed the need for exemplary costs to be imposed on such petitions to deter litigants from misusing the avenue of public interest litigation (PIL).
The brief order recorded that a similar PIL by advocate-petitioner Ashok Pandey challenging the restoration of Lok Sabha membership of Nationalist Congress Party Leader Mohammed Faizal had been dismissed on October 20, with a fine of ₹1 lakh imposed.
SC Imposes Penalty on Advocate for ‘Frivolous’ Petition on Rahul Gandhi Lok Sabha Membership. The present plea argued that disqualification based on conviction and sentence continues until set aside in appeal. The advocate urged the court to decide whether the court of appeal can stay the conviction and whether, based on such a stay, a person disqualified by law could become eligible for parliamentary or state legislative membership. The petitioner also sought a direction to the Election Commission to declare the vacancy of Rahul Gandhi’s seat and conduct a fresh election.
The Supreme Court, in paving the way for the revival of Rahul Gandhi’s parliamentary membership, had stayed his conviction on August 4, citing reasons such as the failure of the trial judge to explain the rationale behind the maximum punishment and the potential deprivation of proper representation in Parliament for the constituency.
