New Delhi: The Lok Sabha Secretariat on Thursday (November 2) restored the membership of Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal after the Supreme Court suspended his conviction in an attempt to murder case last month.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader had been disqualified after a Lakshadweep sessions court had convicted him in January this year for attempting to murder Padanath Salih, the son-in-law of former Union minister and Congress leader P.M. Sayeed, during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

Faizal’s disqualification from the House has “ceased to operate subject to further judicial pronouncements”, a notification issued by Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh said.

On November 1, NCP leader Supriya Sule wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Prakash Birla, seeking Faizal’s reinstatement on the grounds that it had been 23 days since the apex court ordered his reinstatement, Times of India reported.

Citing the Supreme Court order, she said that the Lok Sabha Secretariat’s failure to act on the apex court's directions was “depriving Lakshadweep of its rightful representation”.

Faizal was first disqualified as an MP on January 11, following his sentencing to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh by a sessions court in Kavaratti, the Indian Express reported.

After his initial disqualification from the Lok Sabha, Faizal had challenged the verdict in the Kerala high court, which suspended his conviction and sentence on January 25. The thrust of the court’s order was on the expenditure to the exchequer that the by-election would cause. He was eventually reinstated as a member of the Lok Sabha, The Wire had reported.

In August, the Supreme Court set aside that order, asking the high court to consider the matter afresh. It said that if the high court’s reasoning was allowed to stand, the conviction and sentence of every elected politician would have to be suspended to avoid the financial burden of by-elections.

He was disqualified on October 4 for the second time after the Kerala high court refused to stay his conviction in the 2009 case.

According to the Times of India, Faizal attended both the monsoon session and parliament’s special session that passed the Women’s Reservation Bill, where he voted in favour of the legislation along with the other NCP MPs.

However, on October 9, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Sanjay Karol stayed the Kerala high court's order, LiveLaw reported.

The bench said that the top court’s August 22 order in the matter would take effect. The order specified that the benefit of suspension of Faizal’s conviction would continue while the matter was remanded to the high court.

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