NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Kerala High Court order refusing to suspend the conviction of Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal in an attempt to murder case, allowing the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader to continue as a Member of Parliament from the island constituency.
A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Sanjay Karol issued notice returnable in four weeks on Faizal’s appeal challenging the October 3 high court order, ordering his post as the Lok Sabha member to become ‘operational.’ Earlier, the top court temporarily protected Faizal’s status as MP and remanded the case back to the HC to decide it afresh.
On January 11, Kavaratti session court convicted Faizal and three others for attempting to murder Padanath Salih, the son-in-law of ex-minister and Congress leader, PM Sayeed, in connection to a controversy during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, on behalf of Faizal, argued that it was a fight between the Congress and the NCP workers, the witnesses were all Congress workers and no Independent. There was no weapon of offence in the FIR initially but was introduced later, Sibal stated.