At the outset , I would like to make it crystal clear that I personally very strongly feel that there cannot be two different set of rules – one for the people constituting the ruled class and other for the elected elite comprising of MP and MLA constituting the ruling class . But this is the crowning irony which most unfortunately has been going on since independence till 2013 . There should be more strict rules for MPs and MLAs as they are elected representatives who have to be more accountable but what we are seeing in India is just the exact opposite ! Most shameful and disgraceful !
What an unbeatable irony that to become an army officer or judge or any other government job , there is proper police verification done and there should be no criminal pending case but to become an MP or MLA , you can murder thousands of innocents , rape as many women as you like , be named in any number of extortion or robbery or dacoity or any other case and yet the doors of Parliament and Vidhan Sabhas welcome you with folded hands ! Like PhoolanDevi , you can murder scores of people and yet become an MP ! Nothing on earth can be more shameful than this ! But our political class is not at all prepared to say that , “Enough is enough ! No more will any person who has any serious case pending against him/her shall be allotted party ticket and the oft – repeated pernicious argument that the case is politically motivated shall not be accepted under any circumstances . Laws should be amended regarding this to expressly bar such criminals from entering politics .”
Those accused of heinous crimes like rape and murder are made not just MPS and MLAs but ministers and that too Cabinet ministers of important portfolios . What is this ? Still not one leader in India in power since 1947 has seriously addressed this severe malaise which is corroding our nation from within ! Not surprising that too very often MPs and MLAs are caught on the wrong foot by indulging in rowdy behavior and yet nothing happens to them ! Things have come to such a pass that now they have started holding talks with terrorists like VVIPs , wield political clout to withdraw terror cases against terrorists , refuse to hang terrorists and rapists even after they are convicted by the Supreme Court and their mercy petitions keep dragging for decades and all this in the name of “due process of law” and “let the law take its own course” .
The Supreme Court on January 10 , 2013 posed an ineluctable question to the Centre that , “Should a sitting MP or MLA , convicted of a heinous crime , be treated differently from a common citizen held guilty by the court on similar count ?” It also sought a detailed response from it on the constitutional validity of Section 8 ( 4 ) of Representation of the People Act which permits for special treatment for elected representatives . I must disclose here that Section 8 lists serious offences and stipulates that any person convicted for any of those and sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more will be debarred from contesting elections , and that the disqualification should remain in force from the date of conviction and until six years after release from prison . Strict rules as are applicable for joining army or police or judge or any other public service should be equally applicable to MPs and MLAs . But sadly this can never be possible because those having criminal cases pending against them even though are in a minority but remote control the majority and will never allow such a legislation to ever take effect even in embryonic stage .
Let me also point out here that the Supreme Court bench comprising of Justices AK Patnaik and Gyan Sudha Mishra posed the question stated above after the eminent senior lawyer and constitutional expert Fali S Nariman said the discriminatory provision was the first hurdle in the fight against criminalization of politics and ought to be struck down on the ground that it was in conflict with equality of law guaranteed under the Constitution . It also merits elaboration here that while seeking the Apex Court’s intervention , Nariman argued that Parliament could not be expected to act on its own in the matter , given that 274 out of 547 MPs in the Lok Sabha were facing criminal trials for serious offences . He also was at pains to point out that the razor – thin majority that governments enjoy in the coalition era leaves them with no room for such a move .
What I find most objectionable is that Section 8 ( 4 ) of the Representation of the People’s Act makes an exception in favour of sitting MPs and MLAs , saying disqualification on conviction would not apply to sitting MPs or MLAs for three months and not until disposal of his appeal filed within the 90 – day window. Fali S Nariman while appearing for the petitioner Lily Thomas slammed Section 8 ( 4 ) of the Act as discriminatory and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution . It is unfortunate in the extreme that as Nariman said : “Section 8 ( 4 ) creates two classes of convicts – one , the common man who on conviction cannot contest elections for MPs and MLAs , and second , sitting MPs and MLAs who would continue to be treated as not convicted despite being found guilty for an offence by a court of law”. This merits prompt redressal .
Not surprising that the bench too agreed with Nariman that there has to be constitutional solution to this issue and said it would examine the constitutional validity of Section 8 ( 4 ) of the Act as prima facie it appeared to suggest that a common man remained convicted till the appellate court absolved him but an MP or MLA did not face the rigour of conviction by filing a mere appeal . The Supreme Court asked the Centre to file its response within four weeks . It was not much convinced by the contention of the Additional Solicitor General Paras Kuhad that the issue was settled in 2005 by a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court which had observed that given the razor – thin majority enjoyed by ruling dispensations , if MPs and MLAs were disqualified on their conviction during the tenure of the House , then the democratically elected government could face serious problems . This dubious double standards must now end once and for all . MPs and MLAs whether sitting or fresh must be subject to the same parameters as any other in public service like army , police , judge etc . This obviously does not suit the political class but can their interest be above national interests ?
Sanjeev Sirohi,