Supreme Court to hear PIL for ban on convicted candidates

New Delhi, February 9

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to take up a PIL seeking expeditious trial of cases against sitting and former MPs/MLAs and to debar those convicted from contesting polls in order to end criminalisation of politics.

“I have filed a report…it needs to be considered My Lords,” senior advocate and amicus curiae Vijay Hansaria told a Bench led by CJI NV Ramana. “We will list it,” the CJI told Hansaria. Later, the CJI indicated it will be listed next week. In his report filed in the court, Hansaria had pointed out that despite the SC passing a series of directions to rid politics of criminals, the number of persons with criminal antecedents entering the Legislature has witnessed a significant rise.

The total number of cases pending against sitting and former lawmakers has gone up from 4,122 to 4,984 between December 2018 and October 2020, the report said.

“Of 4,984 cases, 1,899 cases are more than five-year old,” Hansaria said in his latest report filed in the SC. —