Relief for Congress as SC stays Gujarat bypoll

New Delhi/Gandhinagar, April 1 (IANS) In a major relief to the Congress, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Talala by-elections in Gujarat, giving the party an option to file nominations.

The bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjiv Khanna stayed the Election Commission's notification as it asked what would be the impact of the order staying the conviction of sitting Congress lawmaker Bhagvan Barad on his disqualification and issued notice to the poll panel.

Barad was sentenced to two years imprisonment for illegal mining but his sentence was stayed by the trial court itself when he was pronounced guilty on March 1. On March 27, the Gujarat High Court had rejected his plea seeking the stay on the bye-election as well as his March 5 disqualification by Gujarat Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi.

Barad had maintained that his disqualification was not in accordance with the law, done in haste by the Speaker and was politically-influenced. He then moved the apex court and it agreed to hear the matter on Monday after he filed an urgent plea.

Appearing for Barad, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the court that everything leading to Barad's disqualification and declaring the seat vacant was done in just one day.

Appearing for Gujarat, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the stay on the conviction was vacated by the High Court on March 15.

Finding no infirmity with Barad's disqualification, he said that the moment a lawmaker is convicted and sentences, the law comes into operation and a lawmaker is disqualified.

The Talala bypolls were scheduled on April 23, the same date when all the 26 Lok Sabha constituencies from Gujarat will vote.

The apex court's decision brings a huge relief to the Congress as it was preparing to file nominations for the bypolls.

"We welcome the decision by the apex court to put a stay on the hastily-declared Talala bypolls. This also obviously shows how the BJP is using the state machinery and pressurising the constitutional institutions to follow their way. 

"Barad did not bend down to the pressure by the saffron party -- to either join them or suffer. 

"We urge and hope, that the EC will not show a biased attitude and hold the coming elections in a free and fair manner," party's Gujarat unit spokesperson Manish Doshi said.