SC cracks whip, says parties must publish criminal antecedents of candidates within 48 hours of selection

The Supreme Court has ordered political parties to publish criminal records of candidates within 48 hours of their selection mandatorily. The bench made changes in paragraph 4.4 of the judgement, specifying the mandate of 48 hours.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ordered political parties must publish criminal records of candidates within 48 hours of their selection. The apex court made modifications on its February 13, 2020 judgement. A bench comprising of Justices RF Nariman and B R Gavai made the direction while hearing contempt petitions filed by lawyer Brajesh Singh alleging failure to publish criminal records of candidates of Bihar Assembly polls in November 2020. The judgement will be passed on July 20, 2021.

In February 2020, the apex court had ordered that details of candidates shall be published within 48 hours of candidate selection or not less than two weeks before the first date for nomination filing. The bench made changes in paragraph 4.4 of the judgement, specifying the mandate of 48 hours.

Singh, in his petition, expressed his grievances over the conduct of respondents during Bihar Legislative Assembly Election 2020. He alleged intentional disobedience of the Court's February 13, 2020 judgement.

Political parties at the Central and state level were directed to upload detailed information on individuals entangled in pending criminal cases, elaborating on the reason for their selection and exemption of other candidates with no criminal background, as per the earlier judgement. It should also be made public through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and one vernacular newspaper, one national newspaper.