In what is being hailed as a welcome judgment, the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered all political parties to publish the criminal record of all their candidates contesting for Lok Sabha as well as Assembly elections. Parties at the national as well as state levels must also justify why such candidates were selected. The Court further observed that ‘winnability’ is not a sufficient condition for selection.
The bench led by Justice Nariman ruled that the information must be made easily available in public domain through both print and digital media. It must be published in a local and a national newspaper as well as on the social media handles of the party. This should be done within 48 hours of selection or less than two weeks before the period for filing nominations commences, whichever is earlier. Political parties have been asked to submit a compliance report to the Election Commission within 72 hours. Failing to do so will result in legal action taken for contempt of court.
The records must be elaborate and include nature of offense, charges, case number, and the court concerned. The onus would be on the party to prove that the achievements of the candidate were good reason to give her/him a ticket despite she/he being a suspected criminal.
The Court expressed deep concerns at the criminalization of politics. This has to begin by the cleansing of political parties themselves.
Jagdeep Chhokar, founder of Association for Democratic Reforms, remarked that there is a need to fill the gap in the legislation. The Representation of the People Act, 1951 must be amended such that candidates with heinous criminal records must be barred from contesting. On the other hand, advocate Ishkaran Bhandari argues that there is a caveat and clear distinctions must be made between serious and petty offenses to avoid misuse of the law. Often criminal charges are imposed for participating in a protest. Candidates must not be barred unless serious charges have been proved and they have been convicted for them.
Information regarding criminal records would help citizens make informed choices while casting their vote. In that sense, this move is a step towards freedom of choices and strengthening democracy.
