Make law to bar criminals from polls: Supreme Court to Parliament

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court urged Parliament to frame a law that prevents tainted persons from entering the electoral fray, saying the demand of the citizenry to prevent criminals from entering politics to protect democracy cannot be ignored.

“It is Parliament’s constitutional duty to do so. The demands of the citizenry cannot be ignored,” a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said on Thursday.

The bench, however, baulked at embarking upon this exercise itself. “We can declare law. We cannot make law. Parliament can make laws. It cannot declare law,” Justice RF Nariman said. “Bear in mind the lakshman rekha (boundary of judiciary’s domain). It is very difficult to cross.”


Attorney general KK Venugopal conceded the need for a law but said that the contours of any such law could be a matter of debate.

He suggested that a candidate be barred in case the high court at the appellate stage refuses to quash a case against him or her. He urged the court to leave the issue to Parliament to deal with as it would involve widespread consultations with myriad stakeholders. The bench is dealing with several petitions calling upon the court to bar convicted politicians completely from the poll process.

The others on the bench are Justice AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.

The court has taken several incremental steps towards ensuring that the electorate is better informed about who it is voting for. In one ruling it mandated candidates to reveal their criminal antecedents and in another held that no elected member can continue as a member if convicted unless he or she gets a stay on the conviction. The disqualification to contest under the existing law, however, is for a limited period.