SC notice to U.P. govt on plea of disqualified MLA Abdullah Azam Khan in criminal case
The Hindu
The top court also clarified that the election to Suar Assembly constituency, which fell vacant after Mr. Khan’s disqualification, scheduled for May 10, shall be subject to the outcome of his petition.
The Supreme Court on May 1 sought the stand of the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea by Mohammad Abdullah Azam Khan, son of Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, against the Allahabad High Court decision refusing to stay his conviction in a 15-year-old criminal case that led to his disqualification as an MLA.
A Bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M. Trivedi issued notice to the U.P. government and sought its reply.
The top court also clarified that the election to Suar Assembly constituency, which fell vacant after Mr. Khan's disqualification, scheduled for May 10, shall be subject to the outcome of his petition.
"Let the counter be filed. Let the election to be held on May 10 be subject to the outcome of this special leave petition," the Bench said while posting the matter for hearing in second week of July.
During the hearing, the Bench asked Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, appearing for the U.P. government, "Can we test the morality of an individual, convicted and sentenced? Can he not be an elected representative? If you are able to justify... if it makes him unfit to be a public representative. You have to demonstrate prima facie that he has done a crime in his own capacity."
The ASG said he will file his response to the appeal.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Mr. Khan, claimed his client was a juvenile when the incident took place.
The All-India level NEET examination was started a few years ago to counter complaints of corruption during the joint entrance examinations held at the State level. AIDSO had warned the authorities that the solution to the menace of corruption was not changing the examination system, but to investigate the corruption and punish the guilty.