In Brief
A woman convicted in two criminal cases and sentenced to three years' imprisonment in each sought to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Ernakulam. Her nomination was rejected because she remained disqualified under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act (which applies to those convicted and imprisoned for two or more years). Though the execution of her sentences was suspended on appeal, the conviction itself stood. She filed an election petition with defects in verification and prayer. The High Court rejected it, citing both incurable defects and her disqualification. The Supreme Court held the defects were curable and should have been given an opportunity for cure, but dismissed the petition because her disqualification was valid—suspension of sentence execution does not remove disqualification; only a stay of conviction itself does. She could not maintain the election petition as a disqualified person.
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