SC to hear PIL on criminals contesting poll

The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to hear a petition seeking direction to quash those provisions of the Representation of Peoples Act (RPA) which allowed people with criminal records to contest elections, saying that it was a serious issue.

A bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and J Chelameswar agreed to take up on October 10 for hearing the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Lily Thomas.

“There are very serious issues,” the court observed, concurring with senior advocate Fali S Nariman, appearing for the petitioner, who said that it was a matter of great public importance. The petitioner sought striking down of Sections 8, 9 and 11-A of the RPA on the ground they violated the crime based bar provided in Article 326 of the Constitution against the criminals getting registered as voters or become members of Parliament (MPs) or state legislatures.

During a brief hearing, the court, however, refused a plea by the petitioner to direct the Centre to produce the crime profile of all MPs.

“We are concerned with principles and not with individuals,” the bench said. The court had issued notice to the attorney general on the petition filed originally in 2005.

As the petition came up for preliminary hearing, the court also decided to tag along similar pending matters including one appeal against a Patna High Court order stating that those inside the jails should not be allowed to contest elections.

The petition filed by Thomas sought relief as to “how to get rid of criminal mafia legally from nation’s public service, political system and prevent them from hijacking elections, the legislatures and administrations.”

It called the provisions in the RPA as “carcinogenic in nature” saying that those had aggravated the problem by giving legitimacy and boost to criminalisation of politics.

According to the RPA, the convicts could become candidate and be members of Parliament and state legislatures despite conviction if the sentence is less than six months and pending appeals against conviction or penalty among others.