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Context

Political parties in 5 states are pulling out the stops in their quest for winning candidates.
Most are even overlooking criminal backgrounds of candidates.
It is also a heated issue in some states like UP where contesting candidates have been accused of serious causing Riots, Communal Tensions and even Lynchings.

Criminalization of politics: Indian Case

The criminalization of politics has become a headache for the Indian democracy and it is a harsh reality now.
Criminalization of politics in India includes political control of the police, state money, corruption, weak laws, lack of ethics, values, vote bank politics and loopholes in the function of the election commission.
Deep down, it’s a large nexus of police, money, corrupt bureaucracy, casteism, religion and the drawbacks of functioning in the election commission.

Why are tainted candidates inducted by political parties?

Innocent until proven guilty maxim: The other reason offered by political parties is summarised by the maxim of Indian law, which is that any accused is innocent until proven guilty.
Popularity: Such candidates with serious records seem to do well despite their public image, largely due to their ability to finance their own elections and bring substantive resources to their respective parties.
Prospected victory: The logic of a candidate with criminal charges doing better for the cause of people of is another flawed argument.
Destabilizing other electors: Others do not seek to punish these candidates in instances where they are in contest with other candidates with similar records.
Vested interests: Some voters tend to view such candidates through a narrow prism: of being able to represent their interests by hook or by crook.

A harsh reality of Political Asylum

The NN Vohra committee’s report on the criminalization of politics discussed how criminal gangs flourish under the care and protection of politicians.
Many times the candidates themselves are the gang leaders.
This protection is paid back to them during elections through capital investment in election spending and voter support.

Issues with Criminals in Politics

Morality of the process: It is extremely important that the people who enter the field of politics have a clear image and high moral character.
No rule of law: A leader with criminal character undoubtedly tends to undermine the rule of law.
Violation of right to equality: There were 4.78 lakh prisoners (as of December 2019) of whom 3.30 lakh were under trial, i.e. not yet proven guilty.
Problem of undertrial: An “innocent” undertrial cannot vote, but a man chargesheeted for murder can even contest election from jail.

Supreme Courts guidelines in this regard

The Supreme Court earlier in Feb 2020 had ordered political parties to publish the entire criminal history of their candidates for Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

Reasons for nomination: It has also asked for the reasons that goaded them to field suspected criminals over decent people.
Publication of records: The information should be published in a local as well as a national newspaper as well as the parties’ social media handles.
48hr time frame: It should mandatorily be published either within 48 hours of the selection of candidates or less than two weeks before the first date for filing of nominations, whichever is earlier.
Contempt for non-compliance: It also ordered political parties to submit compliance reports with the Election Commission of India within 72 hours or risk contempt of court action.
No escape: The judgment is applicable to parties both at Central and State levels.

Immediate Reason for Judicial Action

The immediate provocation is the finding that 46% of MPs have criminal records.
The number might be inflated as many politicians tend to be charged with relatively minor offences —“unlawful assembly” and “defamation”.
The real worry is that the current cohort of Lok Sabha MPs has the highest (29%) proportion of those with serious declared criminal cases compared to its recent predecessors.

Way forward

(1) ECI suggestion on vendetta politics

The ECI has suggested some safeguards against vendetta politics.

First, only offences that carry an imprisonment of at least 5 years are to be considered.
The case against the candidate should have been filed at least six months before the scheduled elections for it to be considered.
And finally, a competent court must have framed the charges.

(2) Speedy trials

An alternative solution would be to try cases against political candidates in fast-track courts.
The SC had sent a directive in 2014, directing that cases against political candidates must be completed within a year, failing which the matter should be reported to the CJs.

(3) Legislative reforms

We must have a law which debars persons with serious criminal cases from entering the assemblies and the Parliament.
There must be stringent criteria in Representation of Peoples Act as well.

(4) Revamping Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system must be revamped as recommended by the Malimath Committee.
An institution comprising representatives of the police/CBI/NIA, IB, IT department, Revenue Intelligence and Enforcement Directorate should be set up to monitor the activities of the mafia and criminal syndicates in the country.