The Supreme Court’s directive that political parties should publish the details of all criminal charges against their candidates contesting elections draws attention once again to the nexus between crime and politics which has been growing over the years. Fresh initiatives are needed to tackle the problem because earlier attempts by the court and the Election Commission (EC) to deal with it have not produced any result. The court has now ruled that parties should not only publicise the details of the criminal charges against their candidates in newspapers, on websites and social media forums but also justify the selection of such candidates in preference to those who have clean records. The warning that failure to comply with the ruling would invite contempt charges against the parties gives some sting to it, but it should be noted that parties and candidates have in the past always managed to circumvent such directives and mandates.
In September 2018, the court had ruled that candidates should declare the cases against them to the EC. The EC had amended the Form 16 affidavit of candidates accordingly, but it has not helped much to improve the situation. Over 40% of Lok Sabha members have criminal cases pending against them. Over 50% of the members of the newly elected Delhi Assembly have serious charges pending against them. These charges range from rape and crimes against women to attempt to murder. Candidates have been reluctant to make the charges against them public. Both political parties and candidates routinely claim that the charges are politically motivated, unlike the charges against their opponents. Unfortunately, it has been seen that candidates with a criminal record and reputation have greater chances of winning elections than those with no cases against them. This gives parties an incentive to field tainted candidates because they have winnability. So, it is also the responsibility of the people to ensure that candidates with a criminal background do not get their support and win.
It is to be seen whether the court’s latest directive will lead parties to choose candidates with clean records. The court’s order should be considered as part of the efforts to cleanse politics of crime and corruption which are closely linked. The increasing criminalisation of politics undermines democracy. Politics is vitiated not only by crime but also by deliberate attempts by governments to implicate opponents in cases in order to harass and persecute them. It is necessary to make sure that laws, rules and orders do not work against innocent people. While the court’s order is a good step forward, there is much more to be done by speeding up the criminal justice system and reforming the rules and methods of political funding.