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Shahid K Abbas in New Delhi
The all-party meeting convened by the law ministry on Friday to discuss the draft Representation of People (Amendment) Bill 'unanimously' decided that a candidate should not be disqualified unless convicted in a 'heinous' crime, Union Law Minister K Jana Krishnamurthy said.
The meeting was convened to bypass the June 28 order of the Election Commission to implement the Supreme Court directive of May 2 (since challenged) asking candidates to disclose their educational, financial and criminal antecedents.
According to the Commission's directive, candidates contesting an election have to file an affidavit providing details of their educational qualifications, criminal antecedents, and financial assets and liabilities. Returning officers were vested with the power to reject nomination papers on the veracity of information provided in the affidavit.
Disclosing that the final bill would be introduced in the Parliament early next week, the law minister, said, "We had a free and frank discussion and it was unanimously resolved that a person's candidature cannot be rejected merely on the basis of a charge sheet."
The law minister also refused to elaborate on how the word 'heinous' would be defined.
He said the meeting also decided that a nominee may not disclose his assets and liabilities before the returning officer, but if elected shall file these details before the Speaker of Lok Sabha or the Chairman of Rajya Sabha as the case may be.
He said his ministry would draft a suitable bill containing these decisions and through the help of the parliamentary affairs ministry introduce it in Parliament this session itself.
The minister also refused to clarify whether a person convicted by a court would be considered so and not allowed to contest an election if his appeal against the adverse judgment was pending before another bench or a higher court.
"The government would decide on this aspect at the time of drafting the new bill," he said when pressed further.
He also said that in the meeting it was felt the nomination papers should be made simple and the returning officer must not be given 'extraordinary powers'.
Coming out of the meeting, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav said, "I have suggested that no one should be debarred from contesting elections unless he or she has been finally convicted."
Yadav before attending the meeting had said that he would press for debarring all those being tried in any court for desecrating any place of worship belonging to any religion from contesting elections
Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Somnath Chatterjee said that he would like the recommendations of the Goswami Committee, Indrajit Gupta Committee and the Law Commission on electoral reforms to be 'expeditiously adopted'.
Though the Congress chief spokesman S Jaipal Reddy after the meeting said his party had no objection to the disclosure of the assets and liabilities of the candidate, as also the debarring of a candidate due to involvement in 'heinous' crime, sources said the Congress representatives in the meeting -- Pranab Mukherjee and Hansraj Bharadwaj -- asserted that returning officers should not have 'extraordinary powers' to reject nomination papers.
The sources added the both the Congress representatives opposed the cancellation of a candidature on grounds of 'involvement in heinous crime' as draconian saying that 'conviction' alone should be the only criterion.
Pranab Mukherjee, the sources said, pointed out: "Let us have a law, which appeals to the civilized society as in all civilized societies there is a presumption of innocence unless proved guilty."
ALSO SEE: Govt seeks consensus on electoral reforms All-party meet rejects EC's directive Govt promises to table electoral reforms bill EC firm on implementing SC directive Column: EC versus netas
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