Why in News
The Supreme Court is hearing petitions seeking a lifetime ban on convicted persons from contesting elections.
What Are the Legal Provisions?
Section 8(3) of Representation of the People Act, 1951: Convicted individuals sentenced to 2+ years in prison are disqualified from elections for 6 years after release.
Section 8(1): Convictions for serious crimes (e.g., rape, corruption, terrorism) lead to disqualification regardless of the sentence length.
What Were Past Decisions?
ADR Case (2002): Required candidates to disclose criminal records.
CEC vs Jan Chaukidar (2013): Ruled undertrial prisoners can't contest elections.
Lily Thomas Case (2013): Struck down a provision that allowed convicted legislators to stay in office after appealing.
Election Commission (2019): Reduced disqualification for a convicted CM, which raised concerns.
What Is the Current Petition?
Petitioners want a lifetime ban for convicted persons from elections, arguing they are unfit to hold public office.
The government claims that six years post-sentence is enough for MPs and MLAs, as they are not bound by government employee rules.
What Can Be the Way Forward?
46% of MPs in 2024 have criminal cases; 31% face serious charges, showing growing criminalization in politics.
Past recommendations by the Law Commission and the EC suggest barring people with serious charges (over five years’ punishment) from contesting.
Political parties disagree on implementing these recommendations, fearing misuse.
The Court may review the EC’s powers to reduce disqualification periods and assess their constitutionality.
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