Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly has declared BJP MLA Vikram Singh Saini's seat vacant. He was disqualified after being convicted in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case.
An MP/MLA court recently awarded Saini two years of imprisonment. The Representation of the People Act says those who are convicted for two years or more should be disqualified from the date of conviction. They should also remain disqualified for another six years after serving time.
The assembly secretariat on Monday issued a notification declaring the Khatauli seat vacant with effect from October 11. A bypoll is uncertain as of now.
The Election Commission has declared a bypoll to the Rampur assembly seat on December 5. The future of Khatauli seat is still undecided after Monday's notification. A senior official told PTI that the poll body is going to deliberate in two days. By-election is a possibility for Khatauli and it is likely to be held on the same date as other places.
The notification for the December 5 bypolls will be issued in two days.
The UP assembly had not disqualified Saini until yesterday even though the conviction order came on October 11. In the case of SP leader Azam Khan of Rampur seat, he was quickly disqualified after the court convicted him of three years imprisonment. RLD president Jayant Chaudhary raised questions about the bias. Speaker Satish Mahana had said that he had "no role" in the disqualification of SP MLA Azam Khan.