BENGALURU: Dharwad MLA Vinay Rajashekarappa Kulkarni is likely to be disqualified after his conviction in connection with the murder of former zilla panchayat member Yogesh Gowda. Kulkarni, a former minister, was a strong contender for a ministerial berth in the potential reshuffle of the cabinet.
But the sentence in the murder case is likely to put an end to his political aspirations. The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Thursday following which the Assembly Speaker would take a call on the disqualification. A by-election is on the cards.
As per the section 8(3) of the Representation of People Act (RPA), 1951, a sentence of at least two years in a crime case results in disqualification. The disqualification lasts for the duration of the sentence and six additional years following Kulkarni’s release. So, he would not be able to contest any election for six years after the completion of the prison sentence.
He can move the High Court and the Supreme Court with a writ petition. But a mere stay on the sentence or bail is insufficient; a higher court must stay the conviction itself to avoid disqualification, as per the Act. In Karwar MLA Satish Sail’s case the High Court had suspended his conviction and sentence of seven years in six cases.
It has also directed that as per section 151 of Representation of People Act (RPA), 1951, that by-election should not be notified until the outcome of his appeal against the trial court’s conviction and sentence. The Speaker did not disqualify him.
In Gangavathi MLA Gali Janardhan Reddy’s case the Speaker disqualified him in May, 2025, following his conviction in the illegal mining case but withdrew the same following the Telangana High Court suspending the conviction in June, 2025. It is to be seen whether Kulkarni gets his conviction suspended from the higher courts the same way.