SC to hear plea to bar convicts from polls

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would examine whether lifetime ban could be imposed on convicted persons from contesting Assembly or parliamentary elections polls and whether such a ban would violate Article 14 of the Constitution.

A Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Sinha is hearing a batch of petitions filed by Delhi BJP spokesperson Ashiwini Kumar Upadhyay and others seeking a permanent bar on convicted persons from contesting polls. 

Dinesh Diwedi, a senior counsel for one of the petitioners, argued that if criminals were not barred for life from contesting polls then people like Gurmeet Ram Rahim would become ministers. To protect democracy and the institution of Legislature and Parliament, such a thing should not happen as otherwise, convicted criminals would become legislators.  

It was also pleaded that the court should issue a direction to the Centre and the EC to take necessary steps to debar persons convicted in criminal cases from contesting polls, forming a political party and becoming office-bearers of any party.