Kerala HC suspends jail term of disqualified MP

KOCHI:IN a major relief for disqualified Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faisal PP, Kerala High Court (HC) on Wednesday suspended the verdict passed by the Kavarati District and Sessions Court awarding 10 years jail term in an atempt to murder case.

Faisal, a leader of National Congress Party (NCP) of Sharad Pawar in Lakshadweep islands, was suspended from parliament following the Sessions Court verdict.

Along with Faisal, three others were also convicted in the case.

The Sessions Court had convicted the accused for offences punishable under various sections of the IPC and sentenced them to undergo 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs100, 000 each for atempting to murder Mohammed Salih, son-in-law of former Union minister PM Sayeed, during the 2009 parliamentary elections.

There were 37 accused in the case and two of them had died during trial.

Of the remaining 35, four persons, including the disqualified MP and his brother, were convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, while the rest were acquited. Faisal was arrested and shited to mainland by helicopter and was locked up in Kannur Central Jail.

The court extended the same relief to the other three convicts, including Faisal’s brother, in the case. Deputy Solicitor General of India (DSGI) Manu S, who represented the island administration, confirmed the HC order.

Following the conviction on Jan.11, the Lok Sabha Secretariat disqualified the MP on the same day.

In his judgement, Justice Bechu Kurian Joseph observed that purity in politics and consequently democracy needed to be infused.

He said those loty principles, however, cannot be the reason for denying the applications of the principles of rule of law.

He noted that averting an expensive election, that too for a limited period, was in the societal interest. India goes to the national elections mid-next year.

“The societal interest and the need to have purity in politics in elections will have to be balanced. This court is of the view that the case of (Faisal) falls within the category of rare and exceptional circumstances,” the judgement says.

“The ramification of suspending the conviction are enormous and this court is of the view that the conviction and sentence of imprisonment imposed upon (him) must be suspended until dismissed with the appeal.” “Not suspending the conviction of the second accused (Faisal) is drastic not only for (him) but also for the nation,” Justice Joseph said in his judgment.