Chennai sources stated that Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) chief Vaiko, a special court here, convicted the veteran political leader in a sedition case filed in 2009. Meanwhile the Special Court judge J Shanthi pronounced the sentence charging him a fine of Rs. 10,000/- and a one year imprisonment.
Furthermore an MDMK leader said that Vaiko has been granted suspension of sentence for one month under Code of Criminal Procedure 389 under which a court sentence can be suspended pending the appeal by a convicted person. Reportedly Vaiko was expected to file his nomination for Rajya Sabha on Saturday. Reports added that the legal experts, however, believe that offence of sedition doesn’t disqualify a public representative to contest an election.
Moreover as per the Representation of People's Act 1951, someone who is convicted of an offence and is sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more, they are disqualified from contesting elections, for six years after their release. Vaiko’s case concerns his speech at a book launch in 2009. At that event, he had spoken on the topic ‘Eezhathil nadappathenna’ (what is happening in Eelam). He said that action against LTTE must be stopped if india wants to remain a unified country.
