New Delhi, August 19
In a move to nip criminalisation of politics in the bud, the Supreme Court today asked the Centre to respond within six weeks to a PIL proposal for debarring persons facing trial from contesting elections to Parliament, Assemblies and other democratic bodies.

A Bench comprising Justices RM Lodha and MB Lokur sought the government’s response to the proposal of PIL petitioners citing the recommendations of the Election Commission (EC) and the 170th report of the Law Commission (LC).

The SC move comes in the wake of its two landmark judgments on July 10 disqualifying lawmakers automatically upon their conviction by the trial court and debarring jailed candidates from contesting election.

The Centre has already challenged the ruling relating to convicted lawmakers, contending that this would destabilise elected governments and as such is not in the interest of democracy.

Political parties have also agreed to the need for nullifying the verdict on jailed candidates.

Arguing for the petitioners - Public Interest Foundation and others - senior counsel Dinesh Dwivedi said politicians had ganged up to prevent all steps aimed at cleansing politics and this was evident from the fact that the government had failed to respond to the SC notice on the PIL filed in 2011.

“We want to ensure that criminals don’t enter legislative bodies, but it has to be done through legislation,” the Bench remarked while hearing the case, pointing out that the objective was also to bring purity in elections.

The apex court also noted that the EC had already come out with a suggestion for preventing the misuse of the proposed move to keep politicians facing trial (following framing of charges by the court) away from the election process. This could be done by taking into account only those cases instituted not less than six months before the announcement of election.

Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Paras Kuhad said the proposals of the EC and the LC had been rejected by a standing committee of Parliament. He took exception to the expression that politicians had ganged up.

Asked as to why the government was not giving its response to the PIL, the ASG sought a further time of six weeks which the court granted as a last opportunity.

The Bench said it could identify the nature of heinous crimes such as rape, murder and moral turpitude for the purpose of debarring candidates from contesting elections.

The petitioners have pleaded with the SC to lay down guidelines for preventing indicted persons from contesting elections.

Counsel for the EC Meenakshi Arora said there was no change in her client’s proposals submitted to the government in 1997.