How Soon Can Rahul Gandhi Regain His Membership In Parliament? Can He Attend No-Confidence Motion Debate?

The Supreme Court's recent ruling in favor of Rahul Gandhi has cleared the path for his re-entry into Parliament. Now, the key questions are how long it will take the Lok Sabha secretariat to reinstate his membership and whether he will be able to participate in the upcoming debate on the no-confidence motion against the government scheduled for Tuesday.

On the legal front, Rahul Gandhi has challenged the March order of a Surat trial court in a 2019 criminal defamation case that resulted in his disqualification. His appeal against the ruling, which convicted him and sentenced him to two years in prison, is set to be heard by the Sessions Court in Surat on August 21.

To begin the procedure for restoration of membership, Gandhi needs to submit a request to the Lok Sabha secretariat stating that his conviction has been stayed, and he should regain his status as the Member of Parliament from Wayanad. Additionally, he will have to provide a copy of the Supreme Court's order to the secretariat for review, following which a communique will be issued.

However, based on a recent precedent, the process may take some time. The restoration of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Mohammad Faisal's membership was notified by the secretariat more than two months after the Kerala High Court had stayed his conviction and sentencing in an attempt-to-murder case. The notification was made just hours before the Supreme Court's scheduled hearing on the delay.

Without wasting any time, the Congress has already initiated the process. Soon after the Supreme Court's order, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and urged him to restore Gandhi's membership, stating, "The Supreme Court relief to Rahul Gandhi is a victory of truth. We hope truth shall prevail."

In the recent Supreme Court ruling, Gandhi's conviction in the criminal defamation case over the "Modi Surname" remark was stayed. However, the court emphasized that his remarks were not in good taste, particularly for a person in public life. The bench observed that the trial judge had given the maximum sentence of two years, and had it been even a day shorter, Gandhi would not have been disqualified.