New Delhi: Supreme Court on Wednesday had given a very big decision through which now country will get a clean political system. Supreme Court had decided that lawmakers convicted of any crime will be immediately disqualified. The court struck down a provision in the electoral law, which ensures that convicted lawmakers cannot be disqualified if they appeal in a higher court within three months.
A bench of Justice AK Patnaik and SJ Mukhopadhaya said, “The only question is about the vires of section 8(4) of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) and we hold that it is ultra vires and that the disqualification takes place from the date of conviction.”
This ruling could lead to several lawmakers in Parliament and state assemblies losing their seats. According to findings by the Association for Democratic Reforms, an NGO, 1,460 sitting MPs and MLAs face criminal charges in various cases. The court, however, said its decision will not apply to convicted MPs and MLAs who have already filed their appeals in higher courts before the pronouncement of this verdict.
The bench asked, “If an ordinary citizen does not get this kind of benefit while he remains a convict, why should MPs get it?” Under Sec 8(3) of the RPA, a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from contesting elections. Further, he or she cannot contest for six years even after acquittal.
This decision of Supreme Court comes as good news for election commission.
Meanwhile Political parties have opposed such a step by reasoning that it would lead to people levying false charges against politicians to prevent them from contesting. But NCP had welcomes this decision.
DP Tripathi of the NCP said: “I welcome the judgment. A politician should be prevented from contesting even if he has been convicted for one day and he should not contest until he has been acquitted by a higher court.”
“It is a very important issue with legal complexity and we would not like to comment on this without reading the judgment,” said BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.
While Law Minister Kapil Sibal said the government will go through the judgment to see its impact on the politics of the country and hold consultations before deciding on the next step.
Congress spokesperson Renuka Chaudhary said: “We respect court verdicts and we still do not have full details of the judgment. We will take note of it.”
This decision of Supreme Court came on the petitions an NGO Lok Prahari and Lily Thomas. It is a vast step in Indian politics which will prove as a milestone for clean politics.
Bureau Report
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