A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from Parliament, a petition has been moved in the Supreme Court challenging the validity of provisions mandating “blanket and automatic” disqualification of legislators upon conviction and sentence.

The plea, filed by advocate Deepak Prakash on behalf of Aabha Muralidharan, prayed that automatic disqualification under Section 8 (3) of the Representation of People Act (RPA), 1951, should be declared as ultra vires of the Constitution, for being arbitrary, illegal and violative of fundamental right to equality. The petitioner, a social worker from Malappuram, sought a direction that automatic disqualification did not exist under Section 8 (3) of the RPA, while citing Gandhi’s disqualification as an MP on Friday by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.