The ordinance provides that till the elected representatives convicted are not acquitted by a higher court, they will not have voting rights or a salary.
The Union Cabinet has hurriedly approved an ordinance to protect convicted MPs and MLAs from immediate disqualification if they appeal in a higher court against the verdict. It overturns a July order of the Supreme Court that elected members would be disqualified immediately if convicted by a court and sentenced to two years of imprisonment or more.
On Monday next, a Jharkhand court will give verdict on Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's alleged role in the fodder scam case. The ordinance cleared today will prevent Mr Yadav from being disqualified as a Lok Sabha member of Parliament if the court convicts him.
Mr Yadav has repeatedly proved a loyal ally for the minority Manmohan Singh government.
Congress MP Rashid Masood, convicted last week in a corruption case, will benefit too. The CBI court will announce quantum of punishment next month and even if he is handed a jail term of more than two years, he will now not face immediate disqualification form the Rajya Sabha.
Law Minister Kapil Sibal has clarified to NDTV that under the ordinance, protection from disqualification will apply only when the convicted MP or MLA has appealed in a higher court and the higher court has stayed the lower court's conviction.
While it brings huge relief for politicians, the ordinance also does provide that till the elected representatives convicted are not acquitted by a higher court, they will not have voting rights or a salary. And it does not interfere with the Supreme Court ruling that the convicted legislator cannot context elections the next time around unless permitted by a higher court.
So if he is convicted on Monday, Lalu Yadav cannot contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections unless a higher court allows him to.
In July, the Supreme Court had passed two important judgments - that a convicted lawmaker must be immediately disqualified and jailed persons must be barred from contesting elections.
In the Monsoon Session of Parliament the government changed the law to allow a jailed person the right to contest elections. It also introduced a bill to allow convicted lawmakers to continue in office pending an appeal, but the Opposition did not agree to push it through in a rush.
The BJP said today, "The government must answer why this haste. Why can't they wait until the Winter Session of Parliament."