Cannot question voters’ wisdom, says SC

The Supreme Court on Monday observed that the wisdom of electorate cannot be questioned by the Parliament or the judiciary. The observation was made on the heels of a petition that sought judicial scrutiny of an electoral provision which disqualifies a convicted lawmaker from contesting polls for a period of six years from the date of his release after serving jail term.

“The wisdom of electorate is important,” the bench comprising of Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud said. The voters have a right to choose their candidate, the bench argued.

The bench also added that changing the rules, to include the lifetime ban for a convicted lawmaker, fell under the ambit of the legislation and not the judiciary. The bench said, it was the legislature which had stipulated the period of disqualification for convicted lawmakers and hence the issue does not fall under the domain of the judiciary.

The Chief Justice further observed that a legislation banning a convicted politician for life, could also infringe the politician’s right to be part of the electoral process, especially in the case after he has served jail time and refrained from contesting elections for the mandated six years.

However, the bench submitted that at …read more