Indian SC asks Parliament to frame law to bar tainted politicians from contesting polls

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has refused to disqualify candidates facing criminal charges from contesting elections but the apex court has asked Parliament to frame a law instead, to bar tainted politicians from contesting elections in the country on Tuesday.

A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra, hearing a batch of petitions seeking disqualification of candidates with criminal cases pending against them from contesting polls said Parliament must ensure that people with serious criminal charges do not enter politics.

Around 1,700 MPs and MLAs, a little over a third of all elected representatives in India, 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 political parties.

The Supreme Court said that candidates and political leaders, with criminal cases pending against them, have to inform their respective political parties about their criminal records. It also asked the political parties to display the criminal records of its leaders on its website.

"Each candidate has to fill up the form of the Election Commission (EC) and declare whether any criminal case is pending against them," the judges said.

“Our Indian democracy has seen a steady increase in the level of criminalization creeping into Indian polity. This tends to disrupt constitutional ethos, strikes at the root of democratic form of government and makes citizens suffer,” the judges added.

During arguments in the case, the centre’s top law officer KK Venugopal had opposed suggestions that the top court could assume the power to make laws that was the prerogative of the legislature.

The bench had then countered him, saying it understood the concept of separation of powers and could not direct Parliament to make a law, but the “question is what can we do to contain the rot”.