On 25th September 2018, the Supreme Court, describing criminalization of politics as a `termite to the citadel of democracy,’ recommended that the Parliament should make it mandatory for parties to revoke the membership of persons against whom charges are framed in heinous offenses and not to put them up in elections. The order comes soon after the Uttar Pradesh Navnirman Sena offered Lok Sabha seats to Shambhulal Regar and Rupendra Rana, accused in the Rajsamand and Dadri lynching cases, in the next elections.
The Apex Court has, in good faith, trusted the good sense of Parliament to take appropriate measures in enacting “a strong law”. It also issued several directions to parties and candidates on declaring criminal antecedents so that electors can make informed decisions.
The Constitution empowers Parliament to legislate on electoral matters and bars interference by Courts in electoral processes. The Representation of the People Act (RP Act), 1951 provides for qualifications and disqualifications of membership, corrupt practices, and other offences, etc. While the Act provides for registration of parties with the Election Commission (EC), it does not confer the EC power to de-recognize parties or enforce inner-party democracy. Over the years, parties that compose Parliament have striven to ensure that this primacy is not interfered with to their detriment. Whenever any challenge has arisen, parties have closed ranks to protect their turf.
The RP Act lists crimes and stipulates disqualification for six years from the date of conviction; it also lists another set of crimes to disqualify candidates from date of conviction and for six years since release. Candidates convicted for a crime for which minimum imprisonment is two years shall be disqualified from date of conviction and will continue to be disqualified for six additional years after release.
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