New Delhi: The Union government opposed a petition calling for a lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers from contesting elections, arguing before the Supreme Court that such a disqualification, extending beyond the current six-year period after serving prison sentences, would be “unduly harsh".
The government, in an affidavit filed before the apex court, said that the contested provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, are grounded in the principles of “proportionality and reasonability." It further stated that Parliament, as the sole law making body, has the discretion to determine the duration of disqualification or penalties for convicted lawmakers.
The plea in the top court filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeks a life ban on convicted politicians aside from the expeditious disposal of criminal cases against MPs and MLAs in the country.
In its affidavit, the government underlined that the apex court had consistently held that the legislative choice over one option or the other couldn’t be questioned in courts over its efficacy or otherwise. Under Section 8 (1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the period of disqualification was six years from the date of conviction or in case of imprisonment, six years from the date of release, it added.
SC on illegal immigrants suffering in jailsThe Supreme Court has reserved its verdict in a 2013 case on the issue of detention of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. A two-judge bench led by Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan expressed its disappointment for illegal immigrants being made to suffer the rigour of prisons despite having served sentence convictions. "What is the idea of keeping hundreds of illegal immigrants in detention camps/ correctional homes for an indefinite period? The Union of India owes an answer to this question," it expressed. The apex court made it clear in its order that if an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh has been apprehended and convicted under the Foreigners Act, of 1946, then they should be immediately deported to their native country after their period of sentence. |
