New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday orally observed that disqualified Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Irfan Solanki should allow his wife, Naseem Solanki, to remain MLA after she won the By-elections in November last year from UP's Sishamau.
The top court's remark came in response to a plea filed by Irfan Solanki, which sought to stay his conviction in an arson case that resulted in his disqualification as an MLA.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N. Kotiswar Singh opined that when the convicted SP leaders' wife, Naseem Solanki, has been elected as the MLA and that the elections would not be held for the next two years, for the said candidacy, then why should the wife not be allowed to continue.
"Your wife is elected. Allow that poor lady to be an MLA. There's no election for the next two years", Justice Surya Kant said to the counsel appearing for Irfan Solanki.
The Court opined that when Irfan's disqualification led to his wife's victory, then why should he use the same as a ground to seek a stay on his conviction?
During the hearing, the top court also suggested that the counsel seek the same relief before the Allahabad High Court. "We can direct the High Court to decide the case within six months", the Court said.
The top court eventually agreed to hear Irfan Solankis' plea and adjourned the hearing after Solankis' counsel requested the same.
Irfan Solanki, along with four others, was convicted and sentenced by a Kanpur Nagar Sessions Court in June last year for having set on fire a woman's house in UP's Jajmau.
Subsequently, on appeal, the Allahabad High Court rejected his plea to stay the said conviction but granted him bail. Therefore, Solanki has now moved the top court seeking a stay of his conviction, as it had led to his disqualification as an MLA.
In his plea, he argued that both the High Court and the Sessions Court failed to appreciate that the prosecution's case against Solanki was based on conjectures and bald assumptions. The plea also contends that the witnesses were unreliable, being either "chance witnesses" or biased due to enmity, which undermines their credibility.
"The evidence given was under administrative pressure and political rivalry, hence they could not have been relied upon," the plea added.
Further, the plea states that Solankis' conviction has caused irreparable harm to him, as it has impeded him from discharging his duties as an MLA and also derails his prospects of future elections.
It added, "The conviction, if not stayed or suspended, would cause irrevocable harm and damage to an electorate of close to 2,70,000 citizens, which is a significant number in terms of Legislative Assembly elections."
The Court has listed the matter for hearing on the next date. The date of the hearing will be mentioned on the order copy, which is yet to be uploaded on the Supreme Court website.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi will appear for Irfan Solanki. Advocate (AOR) Ankit Goel is representing the respondents, the UP government, in the matter.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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