- A hanging sword even after winning the election
- Curb bureaucratic slack
- Power of Magistrate to deal with spurious complaints
New Delhi : The Supreme Court has given a historic verdict. Due to this, the election process of the country has become more transparent and the way has been paved to hold the political leaders more accountable to the people. The Supreme Court clarified that if a candidate or an elected representative gives false information in the election affidavit or conceals important facts like his property, educational qualification or criminal background, any common citizen or voter can file a criminal complaint against him directly in court.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Dutta and Sheel Nagu made this provision under the Representation of the People Act. Until now, it was believed that only the Election Commission or concerned public servant (government officer) could file a complaint in such cases. The court said that if the Legislature had intended that the offense of furnishing false information in an affidavit should be cognizable only after a complaint by a public servant, the law would have clearly provided for it.
A hanging sword even after winning the election
This decision will significantly curb the arbitrariness of politicians involved in electoral politics. Now, candidates will not be able to evade the Election Commission or government officials alone. If any vigilant citizen of an area finds evidence of any discrepancy or concealment of information in the affidavit of a political leader, they can file a case directly in the magistrate's court.
Power of Magistrate to deal with spurious complaints
The court also rejected the politicians' argument that personal grievances would prompt the filing of false cases out of political vendetta. Candidates no longer have to risk hiding their assets, criminal convictions and other personal information in their affidavits.
Curb bureaucratic slack
Officials often avoid filing cases against politicians due to political influence or administrative delays, but now, the direct involvement of ordinary citizens has removed this barrier.
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FAQ
What was the verdict of the Supreme Court?
– Now any common voter can directly file a case on false affidavit of a candidate.
What is false in affidavit?
– According to Section 125A, concealment / falsification of assets, concealment of criminal cases, giving false information about education, address, PAN, loans in the affidavit accompanying the election candidature application can be booked.