New Delhi: The Supreme Court approved an amendment in the Representation of People Act, 1951 which allows political leaders to contest elections even when they are under police custody; the amendment was passed on Tuesday November 19.
The order of the SC although comes as a big relief for politicians but the decision of the apex court has raised a questions within the society. The revision states that the political representatives will now be free to contest polls till the time they are held guilty and convicted by a court.
In a bill which was passed during September, the Parliament of India restricted the rights to contest the poll. The Bill declared that the individuals under police custody will not be eligible to contest in the elections.
But the government arguing on the same denoted that the court’s verdict was wrong and the Legislature has constitutional duty to correct it.
The Amendment Bill requests to add a provision to sub-section (2) of section 62 of the RP Act to state that a person cannot cease to be a voter while in detention as his or her right is only temporarily suspended. One of the amendments states that as the name of the jailed person continues to be on the electoral rolls, he or she also continues to be an elector and can file nomination for an election.
The Representation of People Act, 1951 is the Act of Parliament of India, which explains about the conduct of the elections of both the Houses of the Parliament. The Act also explains about the qualifications and disqualifications for the membership of these houses, offences or the corrupt practices.
The Act came into force by the provisional Parliament under Article 379 of Indian Constitution. The Representation of People Act, 1951 has been amended various times but the most notable amendment was the one which abolished election tribunals.
The Supreme Court in July had struck down the legal provision that protects a lawmaker from disqualification even after conviction in a criminal case although now the Supreme Court has ruled it out and the MPs or MLAs shall stand be qualified for the membership of the House.
