SC rejects petition against BJP MLA's disqualification

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the Madhya Pradesh government’s special leave petition (SPL) against the High Court’s stay on disqualification of a BJP MLA.

The MLA, Prahalad Lodhi, was sentenced to a two-year jail term by a fast track court in Bhopal on October 31. The SLP was filed by senior lawyers Kapil Sibal and Vivek Tankha.

Lodhi was convicted by a designated special court for public representatives in Bhopal, in a case related to an attack on a public servant who was trying to stop illegal mining. Following the conviction, the speaker of the state Vidhan Sabha N P Prajapati had issued a notification, disqualifying him as the member of the state Assembly, as per a Supreme Court order of 2013 in the Lily Thomas case.

Lodhi challenged his conviction and subsequent disqualification from the state Assembly in the state high court, where a single judge bench stayed both orders till January 7.

Thereafter, the BJP questioned the speaker’s motive and petitioned the state governor Lalji Tondon, requesting him to annul his order.

In the 230 member state Vidhan Sabha, the Congress had won 114 seats, while the BJP had won 109 seats in the 2018 state Assembly elections. The BJP's tally went down to 108 and the Congress increased its tally to 115 after it managed to win the by-election held for the Jhabua Vidhan Sabha seat.

The Supreme Court’s rejection of the government’s petition has paved the way for MLA Lodhi to attend a winter session of the state Assembly, slated to begin from December 17.