NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday awarded conditional stay on the judgment of the Kerala High Court which had invalidated the election of K M Shaji from Azhikode constituency and disqualified him for six years on the ground that he distributed pamphlets to garner votes through communal polarization for 2016 State assembly election.

The three judges bench comprising Justices A K Sikri, Ashok Bhushan and M R Shah admitted his appeal and fixed a time in the last week of January 2019 for hearing.

The Court however made it clear that Shaji though he can attend the assembly, he cannot cast vote in the proceedings and take remuneration from the Assembly. This means that Shaji will be able to attend the assembly proceedings.

The court also ordered sending of notice to M V Nikesh Kumar opposite party in the case. Earlier, while accepting Shaji’s petition for stay, the Supreme Court had orally observed that he could take part in assembly proceedings.