September 25,2018:
On Tuesday, Supreme Court declined to ban the politicians with criminal cases from contesting elections but underlined that it is time Parliament enacts laws to ensure that people with criminal cases do not enter politics.
Apex Court's Five-Judge Bench headed by CJI Dipak Misra stated that,"Society has a right to be governed by better people added that politicians with criminal cases must be “kept at bay”.
It further stated that,"Such a law should be enacted as soon as possible to keep them at bay.The sooner the better, before it becomes fatal to democracy”.
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.
About 1,700 MPs and MLAs, a little over a third of all the elected representatives in India, face criminal charges.
Bunch of Petitions had been filed before Supreme Court stating that this should change.
SC Bench concluded that,"Court was not in a position to add a disqualification to bar people with criminal cases from entering politics or contesting elections. So it cannot declare that legislators who have been charged of serious offences should be disqualified".
Bench further added that,“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”.
Source HT
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