On 2nd November Lok Sabha Secretariat lifted the disqualification of Nationalist Congress Party leader and Lakshadweep MP Mohammad Faizal Padippura from the Lower House of Parliament weeks after the Supreme Court suspended his conviction in an attempt to murder case. According to a notification issued by Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh, his removal from Lok Sabha is no longer in effect, however, it is dependent on future decisions made by the judiciary.
The press release read, “In view of the order dated 09.10.2023 of the Supreme Court of India, the disqualification of Shri Mohammed Faizal P. P., notified vide Gazette Notification no. 21/4(10)/2023/TO(B) dated the 4th October 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, has ceased to operate subject to further judicial pronouncements.”
On 4 October, Mohammad Faizal was removed from the Lok Sabha for the second time this year after the Kerala High Court turned down a request to revoke his conviction in the 2009 attempt-murder case. On 11 January, he was initially disqualified as a parliamentarian after a sessions court in Kavaratti sentenced four people including him to 10 years in prison and a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
The accused repeatedly attacked Padanath Salih, son-in-law of former Union Minister and Congress leader late P M Sayeed when they had reached their neighbourhood for intervening in a political issue during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
Notably, he along with his nephew and other individuals were the subject of a complaint filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in July of last year citing corruption and irregularities. The charges include a plot involving the delivery of tuna seafood to a company in Sri Lanka. The national agency searched six premises in Delhi, Calicut and Lakshadweep that were connected to the lawmaker.
He had also declared that beef-eating was a constitutional right of the Lakshadweep people. Similar to the laws that are already in place in the majority of Indian states, the draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation (LDAR) 2021 also suggested a fresh regulation that would outlaw the killing of cows and the consumption of beef.
Importantly, he had opposed the same and argued that eating beef was a fundamental right of the inhabitants of the region and that the new ideas were intended to undermine the island’s ‘Islamic character’ where 96% of the population is Muslim. He was elected as a member of parliament from Lakshadweep in 2014 and 2019.