# Rahul Gandhi

• Rahul Gandhi was on Friday disqualified as an MP from the Wayanad lok Sabha seat.
• This followed a Surat trial court’s order on Thursday that convicted him in a criminal defamation case and sentenced him to two years.
• The disqualification will bar 52 year old Gandhi, a four time MP, from contesting polls for eight years unless a higher court stays his conviction and sentence.
• The Lok Sabha notification came after Rahul Gandhi briefly turned up in the House.
• Experts on election law maintained that Rahul’s disqualification Kicked in the moment he was sentenced.

# Supreme Court

• Congress and 13 other parties filed a petition in the Supreme Court on Friday accusing the Centre of misusing CBI and ED, harass and arrest political opponents to stiffle dissent.
• Opposition parties requested the Court to lay down pre and post arrest guidelines for the probe agencies.
• The Court agreed to hear the plea on April 15.

# Supreme Court

• Supreme Court reversed its 12 year old ruling that mere membership of a proscribed group, without inciting and indulging in violence, is not an offence under UAPA.
• The Supreme Court on Friday said a person continuing to be a member of an outfit, despite knowing it is banned under UAPA, would risk prosecution and a jail term of two years.
• The Supreme Court took exception to the 2011 judgements in Kerala versus Raneef and anup Bhuyan Versus Union of India, in which a two judge apex Court bench headed by Markandey Kathu had relied on three US Supreme Court judgements to arrive at thy verdict.

# US

• Eric Garcetti the former mayor of Los Angeles was officially sworn in as the US ambassador to India on Friday.
• He was sworn in by Vice President Kamla Harris.