Author: Somala Viplava, Sri Padmavathi Mahila Vishwavidyalayam
To the pointIndia is a democratic country by conducting free and fair elections.The democracy was polluted with the criminalisation of politics.This lead to unfair elections and weak the status of the country and criminalisation in politics.Now-a-days political power used for unfair actions.The politicians used their political power and they supported the people of muscle power and involved in serious criminal offences.
The offences also include the offences like crimes against women like rape,sexual harrassment,attempt to rape,and also the offences like murder ,corruption,etc. In this way the politics are misused by the electoral members.
Use of Legal Jargon
Constitutional Provisions
In the Indian Constitution it does not specify what disqualifies a person from contesting elections for members of Parliament or for member of State Legislatures. However, it specifies the eligibility and disqualification in the articles they are :
• Article 84: In this article it Specifies the eligibility criteria for members of Parliament.
• Article 173: In this article it deals with the eligibility criteria for members of State Legislatures.
• Article 102: In this article it Specifies about the disqualification of members of Parliament.
• Article 191: In this article it Specifies about the disqualification of members of State Legislatures.
Other Laws
Certain laws and acts deals with the criminalization of politics in India they are :
• Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1951: Section 8 of this act deals with the certain offenses that disqualifies a person from contesting in the elections or continuing as a Members of Parliament or members of State Legislative Assembly.
• Indian Penal Code: Chapter IX A of IPC deals with the offenses related to elections, defining and prescribing penalties for crimes like bribery, improper influence, and impersonation during elections of members of Parliament or members of State Legislatures.
• Section 125A of the RPA: This section deals with penalties for failure to furnish information concealment of information, or giving false information in the affidavit required for election nominations.
Government Schemes
Our Indian government and judiciary have taken several steps to address this issue:
• Election Commission of India:
• Model Code of Conduct: It was implemented by the ECI to ensure free and fair elections.
• Affidavits: It is a document that contains mandatory declaration of assets and existing criminal charges of members in affidavits to the ECI prior to elections.
• Prohibition of Arms: If candidates entered into the surroundings of a polling station with any kind of arms is considered a cognizable offense.
• Special Courts: The courts established to expedite trials of criminal cases involving MPs and MLAS.
Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013:
This Act Strengthens accountability and reducing corruption in India.
• Central Vigilance Commission (CVC):
It aims to support integrity and to prevent corruption in the country.
•Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI):
It is a central level executive authority it’s role is Investigating corruption and serious crimes.
• Right to Information (RTI) Act: It Promotes transparency and accountability in good governance.
•State Funding of Elections:It recommended
to prevent the use of black money in elections and to prevent the misuse of funding by the candidates.
• Strengthening Election Commission:Giving powers to election commission to ensure its independence and regulate the affairs of political parties.
• Intra-party Democracy: It encourages
internal democracy within political parties to choose candidates with integrity to promote good governance.
The Proof
In India, the burden of proof is depends on the person who made allegations.The Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) deals with the admissibility of strong evidence in Indian courts and traces the responsibilities of parties involved in a case.
The Burden of proof under Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam
– Section 104 : The burden of proof depends on the party who contend the existence of any fact. For example, in criminal cases,the burden of proof is on the prosecution to prove accused guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
– Section 105 of : In case of civil cases, the burden of proof depends on the party who failed if no further evidence were presented.
– Section 108 : When someone is accused of any offense, the responsibility depends on the accused to prove that their acts fall under any general or special exceptions of the the law.
– Section 109 : when specific fact is something that only a particular person would know intimately, that person has liable to prove such fact.
* Implications
In cases of criminalization of politics, the burden of proof is important in determining the guilt or innocence of the accused. The prosecution has liabiy to must provide evidence to prove the charges against the politician, while the accused may need to prove that their actions comes under exceptions and the prosecution’s charges are not valid and he needs to prove he is not guilty under the law.
Abstract
In Criminalisation of politics ,” Criminalisation” means ” the actions or the behaviour of people,they are doing something illegal” is known as criminalisation.
” Criminalisation of politics” means ” the illegal actions or the behaviours of the politicians that effect the democracy of the government”.If they are proved guilty with an illegal offense,it leads to disqualification of their membership from that house.
Based on the survey of Association Of Democratic Reforms,the data concluded that after Loksabha elections in 2019,nearly 43% of the newly elected members of the lower house have criminal cases filed against them.
The conviction rate for crimes by members of parliament or State legislature’s was increased to 43% in 2019 since from 24% in 2004 and 30% in 2009 and was increased to 34% in 2014 and to 43% in 2019.
According to the report given by the National Crime Record Bureau,it revealed that the conviction rate for crimes committed by members of Parliament and state legislatures is only of 6% in 2019.
Because of these type of weak government measures and weak law enforcement and weak judicial system the criminals are increased to contest in the politics.
The people are mostly focus on the black money and they are giving importance to easy money by doing illegal activities.
They have connection with highly profiled criminals and with persons who have muscle power and involving in the illegal activities with their support by using political power.
The candidates mostly having charges of very serious and heinous crimes against them like crimes against women,sexual harrassment,rape,attempt to rape,murder,corruption, etc….
This causes only because of weak internal democratic structures and allowing party leaders to select candidates including those with criminal backgrounds because of their ability to win in the elections rather than their ability.
They also misused the government welfare schemes,beneficiary schemes given to the women for women empowerment and they mostly focus on short term gains rather than focusing on the welfare of the people.
It curbs the faith of the people and it undermines the ability of the people to hold their representatives accountable.
Case Laws
Case Laws of Criminalization of Politics in India
– Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) Case (2002) : It is the decision of the Supreme Court that directed the members of the legislatures to provide their criminal records, assets, and liabilities while participating in the nominations, by highlighting the fundamental right to information under freedom of speech and expression under the Indian constitution.
– PUCL v Union of India (2004) : The Supreme Court decision in this case is that the right of electors to know about their representatives’ criminal backgrounds and made Section 33B of the Representation of People (Third Amendment) Act unconstitutional and void.
– K. Prabhakaran v P. Jayarajan (2005) : The Court highlighted the scope and importance of Section 8(3) of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, stating that the purpose of disqualification is to prevent criminalization of politics in India by implementing several measures.
– Lily Thomas Case (2013) : In this case the was given by the Supreme Court that members of parliament and of state legislators are convicted of crimes with a minimum punishment of 2 years of imprisonment would be disqualified as members of the house immediately.
– Manoj Narula v Union of India (2014) : The Court in this case identified that the limitations of its power in appointing ministers with criminal backgrounds but suggested that the Prime Minister should not consider the individuals who arebl having serious criminal charges against them.
– Public Interest Foundation v Union of India (2018) : The Court directed in this case that the political parties to provide the details of the criminal records of their candidates on their websites, social media, and newspapers.
– Rambabu Singh Thakur v Sunil Arora (2020) : The Supreme Court in this case re-enacted its 2018 decision and given instructions to the Election Commission to report non-compliance by political parties.
* Impact of these court’s decisions
These decisions by the higher courts have aimed to increase transparency and accountability in the elections but the issue of criminalization of politics remains a big challenge in India. The courts have ruled the the need for a more effective judicial system and stricter laws to stop individuals with criminal backgrounds from entering politics and contesting in the nominations.
Conclusion
To prevent and reduce the criminalisation of politics in India by taking some measures like made anti-defection law strict,made amendments to Representation Of People Act,1951 and made it strict against the members involved in serious offences,and by establishing fast track courts and to form separate committees to audit and create transparency as to the funding political parties.
By reducing and preventing criminalisation of politics in India we ensure democracy.Article 324 of Indian constitution gives power to the Election Commission of India to conduct and ensure free and fair elections.
FAQS
1. What is Criminalisation of politics?
A. Criminalisation of politics means the actions or behaviour of politicians that something they made illegal.
2. Is it effected the democracy of the government?
A. Yes,it effected the democracy of government. The people lost their belief in elections and they are not interested to participate in the elections to elect their representative.
3. Is member disqualified from membership if he is proved guilty of criminal offence?
A. Yes,if a member is proved guilty of any criminal offence against him he will be disqualified from membership and will be punished with a punishment awarded to him.
