By IANS,
New Delhi : In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court Wednesday declared unconstitutional the provision of the Representation of the People Act that allows elected representatives to continue as members of the elected bodies even after conviction in criminal cases.
The decision was given by an apex court bench headed by Justice A.K. Patnaik.
Section 8 sub-clause 4 of the Representation of the People Act permits an elected representative to continue in the legislature or parliament even after he or she has been convicted of a criminal offence, provided he or she gets the stay of the conviction and sentencing by the higher court.
Under this provision of RP Act, such a person can even contest elections after the existing house has been dissolved.
However, this right to contest elections available to a sitting member is not available to a convict who is not a member of a state legislature or parliament.