Mohammed Faizal | Photo: Mathrubhumi
New Delhi: Former Lakshadweep MP and National Congress Party (NCP) leader PP Mohammed Faizal, who was found guilty in an attempt to murder case, has approached the Supreme Court requesting to prevent the by-elections notified by the Election Commission of India (EC) to the Lakshadweep Lok Sabha seat.
EC on Wednesday announced that the parliamentary constituency of Lakshadweep will vote in bypolls on February 27, along with by-elections to six assembly seats spread over five states. The move comes in that context.
Earlier, a sessions court sentenced a 10-year-old jail term for Faizal in an attempt to murder case of 2017. Following the conviction, the Lok Sabha Secretary General disqualified him from the Parliament. If a court sentences a parliament member to imprisonment for more than two years in a criminal case, then the member shall be disqualified immediately.
His appeal against the conviction is currently pending in the Kerala High Court. Faizal alleged that it is arbitrary and illegal to announce by-elections without knowing the outcome of his plea seeking a stay on the sessions court's verdict. Faizal pointed out that the notification to disqualify him would not stand if High Court quashes Session's court verdict.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and KR Shashiprabhu will appear for Faizal in Supreme Court on Friday.
Four people, including Faizal, were sentenced to jail after they were found guilty of attempting to kill Mohammed Salih, son-in-law of late Congress leader and former Union Minister P M Sayeed, during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
The election to Lok Sabha in Lakshadweep seat was necessitated due to disqualification of Faizal.
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