ISLAMABAD: India’s Chief Justice Dipak Misra, while addressing thegovernment and the Election Commission of India (ECI), has questioned thelogic behind having a criminal and corrupt person as the head of apolitical party.
He said such a lapse was a huge blow to the purity of the election process.”A man cannot directly contest an election, so he constitutes a group ofpersons to form a political party and contest an election. People can forman association of people to do philanthropic activities like have ahospital or a school. But when it comes to the field of governance, it isdifferent,” he said.
Far worse is the prospect of democracy when such a criminal at the head ofpolitical party has the power and authority to choose candidates who wouldcontest elections under his party’s banner, Misra observed at the head of athree-judge Bench.
The court said having a criminal decide who the people should vote for, byitself, goes against the basic tenet of democracy. “How can a convictedperson be an office-bearer of a political party and select candidates tocontest elections? This goes against our judgements that corruption inpolitics [are] to be ostracised from the purity of elections,” ChiefJustice Misra orally observed, addressing the government and the ElectionCommission of India (ECI).
“So, is it that what you cannot do individually [that is contestelections], you can do collectively through some of your agents” the ChiefJustice asked. In December last, the Indian Supreme Court agreed to examinewhether the ECI should be empowered to deregister a political party on theground that a convicted person has either formed it or is a crucialoffice-bearer.
Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who filed the petition, reasoned that if aconvicted person could be banned from contesting elections, he or sheshould be also debarred from heading a political party and controllingother elected members of his or her party.
The petition names leaders like the RJD’s Lalu Prasad, who was convicted inthe fodder scam cases, and INLD leader O.P. Chautala, who was found guiltyin the junior teachers recruitment scam.
“Presently, even a person who has been convicted for heinous crimes likemurder, rape, smuggling, money laundering, sedition, loot, dacoity etc. canform a political party and become party president,” the petition contended.