How can convicted person hold party post, asks SC

The Supreme Court on Monday said if a convicted person can’t contest election, then how can he lead a political party and select candidates to contest elections.

“If a convicted person cannot contest an election, how can he be at the head of a political party and select candidates to contest elections” asked the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud, observing that this flies in the face of top court judgments calling for eliminating corruption, reports IANS.

Saying that what can’t be done directly, can’t be done indirectly, the top court asked the Central government to spell out its stand on the plea seeking that people who are barred from contesting election after their conviction in criminal cases, should also be debarred from forming a political party or being the office bearer of a political party for the period they are electorally disqualified.

Petitioner Ashwani Kumar is seeking that Section 29A of the Representation of People Act should be so read as to mean that the power to register and recognise a political party by the Election Commission also include power to de-register a political party.

The court, in the last hearing of the matter on December 1, 2017, had said that it will examine if the poll panel can take recourse to Section 29A of the act to deregister a political party if its office bearers have convicted politicians among them.

Responding to the issue being examined by the court, the Election Commission sought to empower itself to deregister a political party and be authorised to issue necessary order regulating registration and de-registration of political parties particularly in view of its constitutional mandate.