On Tuesday, the Kerala High Court declined to halt the conviction of Lakshadweep Member of Parliament (MP) PP Mohammed Faizal in an attempted murder case. However, the Court did decide to temporarily suspend his sentence related to the case.

Earlier, the High Court had temporarily halted both Faizal's conviction and sentence. However, in August of this year, the Supreme Court overturned this order and instructed the High Court to review and make a fresh decision on Faizal's request within a six-week timeframe.

Justice N Nagaresh subsequently reevaluated the case and issued a new order today, suspending the sentence for four individuals, including Faizal, who had been convicted by the trial court.

Nevertheless, the Court rejected Faizal's request to suspend his conviction. As a result, this decision could potentially lead to his disqualification as a Member of Parliament (MP).

On January 11, a sessions court in Kavaratti had found Faizal and three others guilty of attempting to murder Padanath Salih, who is the son-in-law of former Union Minister and Indian National Congress leader, PM Sayeed. This case was related to a political controversy that occurred during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

The trial court handed down a 10-year rigorous imprisonment sentence to all four of the accused, effectively.

On January 12, the four convicts lodged an appeal with the High Court. Additionally, they submitted applications to have their convictions and sentences suspended, seeking bail while their appeal is pending.

On January 25, the Kerala High Court suspended the conviction and sentence that had been handed down by the trial court, which led to an appeal being filed before the highest court. The High Court justified this decision by categorizing the case as one involving rare and exceptional circumstances, emphasizing that the consequences of not suspending the conviction were significant.

The Union Territory of Lakshadweep filed an appeal with the Supreme Court challenging the High Court's order. They argued that if the reasoning in the High Court's order were to be followed, it would necessitate the suspension of the convictions and sentences of elected politicians in every case to prevent the financial burden of conducting bye-elections.

The Supreme Court overturned the High Court's decision and instructed it to re-examine the case, which ultimately led to the verdict delivered today.