The question of dealing with the convicted MPs and MLAs in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of India has come up in recent times. The Supreme Court dealing with the subject has found that the Representation of Peoples Act is “clumsy”. Whatever the connotation of the term clumsy in this case, the long and short of the matter is that the framers of the Constitution generally believed that the elected representatives of people would be the most upright people we can find in the country. Perhaps they had the obsession that Indian nation had suffered the shame and humiliation of slavery to foreign rules for hundreds of years that had mauled the very spirit of the nation. They believed that this historical fact would be fully understood by those who would be called by history to administer this country after freedom was achieved. They were justified to some extent because the fervour for honesty, simplicity and service to the famished millions of Indians was spearheaded by puritanical political leadership that led the fight for freedom under Gandhi ji’s exemplary leadership. This could be the reason why the fathers of Indian Constitution did not think negatively on the role of Indian leadership. As such they did not incorporate in full detail the punishment that would be given to the defaulting political leaders.
But idealism is far from harsh reality of the material world. Human beings are what they are. Man, in the words of great political scientist Hobbes is brute, selfish and nasty. We have walked far away from the days when our constitution was framed. The country has moved steadily along the path of economic growth. Money is flowing abundantly and political power has assumed centre stage in our social-political structure. Furthermore various identities and sub-identities have emerged as a result of greater realization of civil, political and economic rights. Human rights are getting strengthened and India is become part of the civilized world where human dignity has to be upheld. In this scenario, moral and ethical values are met with downslide. The foundation of the society of independent India hitherto laid on great principles of morality got eroded. Politics became industry and those who aspired become political leaders care more for personal aggrandizement than for the welfare and betterment of their compatriots. This is how rot sneaked into our polity. Sixty per cent of sitting MPs have criminal record, cried a former Chief Election Commissioner of India.
This has necessitated the Supreme Court to examine what the Constitution has to say about the MPs/MLAs who are convicted for criminal cases. In recent times, the Apex Court issued two judgments in this behalf. The first was that if a criminal case was established against an MP or MLA and the punishment exceeded two years of imprisonment, he/she will be disqualified immediately and cannot enter the legislative house. A petition was filed in the SC challenging the verdict. In its most recent judgment the Apex Court has refused to change the judgment thus upholding the earlier verdict of disqualifying the person in question.al. The other verdict pertains to arrested person prohibited from entering the election fray. In this case the court said the relevant law in the Constitution would be given due cognizance. The court has found some shortcomings in the law and as such declared that only the Parliament was authorized to amend the law.
The legal battle apart, the fact of the matter is that on moral grounds an arrested person should not have the right to join the election fray. If we want neat and clean governance, we should have clean law makers. That is a pre-requisite. Let us not feel shy of saying that we have had some characters among our law makers whose conduct makes us lower our head in shame. We cannot have any sympathy with them. Indian voter has to understand that he must use his vote very judiciously and not fall in the trap of fake political leaders. The judiciary also wants that criminals must be barred from entering the law making organization. We know that many of the representatives with criminal record have money as well as muscle power and they have manipulative capability also. But as the nation moves forward, these aberrations and angularities must be ironed out. The good thing and a redeeming factor is that our judiciary is of a high standard and the Supreme Court is the defender of the Constitution in letter and in spirit. We want a Parliament and also State Legislative Assemblies free of criminal and malevolent elements. Then alone can we say that interests of the people of the country are rightly served by the democratic institution. In that sense the verdict of the Supreme Court is of exceptional significance.
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