Hammers on netas serving 2 yrs jail; may face ban from elections: SC

New Delhi, Sept 7: The tables have around for

who have been fighting elections from

. They cannot do that anymore. SC on Friday has asked the Union Government to implement its order for disqualifying sitting MPs, MLAs and MLCs who have been convicted in an offence for 2 years.

In a statement, the court said,"Sitting members of Parliament and state legislators are no longer protected by clause 4 of Section 8 of the Representation of People Act."

In other words, politicians who continued enjoying their powers during a pendency of their appeals can no longer do so. This was a blow to the tainted politician's last resort of having an antidote to retain office in case of pending conviction.

SC's notice clearly states that any such politician would be immediately unseated and will be barred from contesting elections for the next 6 years. This, however, is subject to change depending on the kind of offence that the politician has committed.

That is not all. Apart from losing their elected seats, seated politicians will not be compensated for the years they have lost, if acquitted. Furthermore, if they are acquitted close to the election, they may have to let go of more than one election, given the snail's pace the judiciary works in.

OneIndia News