Consider the following statements:1) According to the Constitution of India, A person who is eligible to vote can be made a minister in a state for six months even if he/she is not a member of the legislature of that state. 2) According to the Representation of people act, 1951, a person convicted of a criminal offense and sentenced to imprisonment for five years is permanently disqualified from contesting an election even after his release from prison. [2020]

Consider the following statements:

According to the Constitution of India, A person who is eligible to vote can be made a minister in a state for six months even if he/she is not a member of the legislature of that state.
According to the Representation of people act, 1951, a person convicted of a criminal offense and sentenced to imprisonment for five years is permanently disqualified from contesting an election even after his release from prison.

The Constitution of India allows a person who is not a member of the state legislature to be appointed as a minister, but this person must become a member of the legislature within six months from the date of appointment; otherwise, they cease to hold office (Article 164(4)).
However, being merely eligible to vote does not suffice; the person must be qualified to be elected as a member of the legislature.
- Although the voting age is set at 18 years, eligibility for becoming a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) requires a minimum age of 25.

The Representation of the People Act, 1951 is an act of Parliament of India to provide for the conduct of election of the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State, the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of those Houses, the corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such elections and the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with such elections.
It was introduced in Parliament by law minister Dr BR Ambedkar.
There are several provisions that deal with disqualification under the RPA:
- Disqualification is triggered for conviction under certain offences listed in Section 8(1) of The Representation of The People Act. This includes specific offences such as promoting enmity between two groups, bribery, and undue influence or personation at an election. Defamation does not fall in this list.
- Section 8(2) also lists offences that deal with hoarding or profiteering, adulteration of food or drugs and for conviction and sentence of at least six months for an offence under any provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act.
- Section 8(3) states: “A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.”

Statement 1 can be eliminated because it confuses voting eligibility with eligibility to become a legislator. While the voting age is 18, a person must be at least 25 years old to become an MLA, making the statement incorrect. Statement 2 can be eliminated using the extreme claim rule, as permanent disqualification is unlikely; under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, disqualification lasts only for a limited period. Hence, both statements are incorrect.