The Kerala High Court on Wednesday stayed for three weeks the operation of its verdict declaring the election of Congress leader Kodikunnil Suresh to the Lok Sabha from the Mavelikara constituency void, subject to certain conditions.
Justice M. Sasidharan Nambiar passed the stay order on a petition filed by Mr. Suresh.
The conditions set by the court are: Mr. Suresh can attend the Lok Sabha, but he is not entitled to vote; he is not entitled to participate in any parliamentary committee meetings in his capacity as Member of Parliament; and he shall not draw any remuneration or allowance as MP.
The court had on Monday set aside his election from the reserved constituency on the ground that he did not belong to any of the Scheduled Castes.
Counsel for Mr. Suresh submitted that he intended to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. Parliament was in session till August 27. He was a member of the Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes Welfare Committee of Parliament. He would not be able to take part in the committee's meetings if the judgment was not stayed. Besides, he had raised starred questions in the Lok Sabha. His presence was therefore essential in the Lok Sabha. Since he was a secretary of the Congress Parliamentary Party, he was to convene meetings of his party MPs and interact with Ministers on vital matters and ensure attendance of his party MPs in the House.
Countering the arguments, counsel for the defeated candidate R.S. Anil and other respondents contended that since the court had found that he was not qualified to contest the election, he was not entitled to participate in meetings of Parliament committees.
The court said the declaration of the court was subject to a decision on the appeal to be preferred in the Supreme Court. The judge said that considering the entire facts of the case, the operation of the judgment was stayed for three weeks to enable the petitioner to file an appeal and get appropriate orders from the Supreme Court.
