Can’t ban criminals in politics, says apex court
TIME FOR NEW LAW Bench tells parties to publicise cases against candidates NEWDELHI:The
Supreme Court has declined to ban politicians with criminal cases from contesting elections but underlined that it is time Parliament enacts laws to ensure that people with criminal cases do not enter politics.
Society has a right to be governed by better people, the judges said while observing that politicians with criminal cases must be “kept at bay”.
Such a law should be enacted as soon as possible, it said.
“The sooner the better, before it becomes fatal to democracy,” a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said.
The apex court also directed political parties to post on their websites and widely publicise in the media, both print and electronic, full details of the criminal charges against candidates they would be fielding in elections.
The candidate as well as the political party concerned “shall issue a declaration in the widely circulated newspapers in the locality about the antecedents of the candidate and also give wide publicity in the electronic media”, said Chief Justice Misra, speaking for the Bench.
“When we say wide publicity, we mean that the same shall be done at least thrice after filing of the nomination papers,” said the Bench, also comprising Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.
The Bench said: “We are sure, the law making wing of the democracy of this country will take it upon itself to cure the malignancy. We say so as such a malignancy is not incurable. It only depends upon the time and stage when one starts treating it.
“It is one thing to take cover under the presumption of innocence of the accused but it is equally imperative that persons who enter public life and participate in law making should be above any kind of serious criminal allegation,” the court urged Parliament
Under criminal law, an accused is presumed innocent till convicted by the court. Nearly 1,700 MPs and MLAs, a little over a third of all elected representatives, face criminal charges.
Under the existing law, politicians are banned from contesting elections for six years only if they are convicted for the crime. Also, there is nothing to stop convicted politicians from heading parties.
A bunch of petitions filed before the Supreme Court had argued that this should change.
The judges ruled that the court was not in a position to add a disqualification to bar people with criminal cases from entering politics or contesting elections.