SC miffed by EC’s U-turn on life ban for convicted politicians
The Supreme Court expressed displeasure with the Election Commission for being non-committal on a plea seeking a lifetime ban on convicted politicians.
In an affidavit submitted before a bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha, the poll panel said Ashwini Upadhyay’s plea was “not adversarial”. Representing the panel, the advocate said, “Commission supports the plea to the extent that there should be a mechanism for decriminalisation of politics…We have not taken a decision. We doubt whether it falls in legislature’s domain.”
The ECs stand is a complete U-turn from submissions made in an earlier hearing. “Is silence an option for you (ECI)? You must say either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on whether you are supporting the petitioner. You are the ECI and here is a citizen of India who has come here to seek lifetime debarment of convicted persons. Can you say I will be silent? No, you cannot,” the Bench said.
“If you (ECI) feel constrained by the legislature, then let us know. If you are even constrained to the extent of giving your view, feel free and say so clearly,” it said.
Interestingly, a fortnight ago, when a similar petition came before the apex court, the Chief Justice had observed that a …read more