Lok Sabha candidates need to make criminal background public, if any: Election Department Assam

Guwahati: If any candidate contesting in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in Assam has any criminal cases pending or cases of conviction against them, then he or she has to publicly disclose details of such cases. Political parties are also required to publish the details of candidates with criminal backgrounds.

As per Election Commission of India (ECI) directions, the Election Department, Assam, has forwarded the instruction to all returning officers (ROs) of the state. The ECI has taken this decision so that electors are aware of the criminal antecedents of the candidate concerned, following a Supreme Court directive to that effect.

According to the Election Department, Assam, candidates participating in elections to the House of the People (Lok Sabha) who have criminal cases against them, either pending cases or cases in which the candidate has been convicted, should publish a declaration about such cases for wide publicity on the TV channel and in newspapers with wide circulation in the constituency area. This declaration is to be published in the specified Form (C-1) on three occasions during the campaign period for purposes of publishing such details. The period specified for such publication will be decided in three blocks in the following manner, so that electors have sufficient time to know about the background of such candidates: Within the first 4 days of withdrawal; between the next 5 and 8 days; from the 9th day until the last day of the campaign (the second day prior to the date of polling).

All such candidates with criminal cases are also required to publish the above declaration on TV channels on three different dates during the above-mentioned period. But, in the case of the declaration on TV channels, the same should be completed before the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of polling.

Regarding the political parties, the instruction states that recognized parties and registered un-recognized parties, which set up candidates with criminal cases, either pending cases or cases of past conviction, are required to publish declarations giving details in this regard on their website as well as in TV channels and newspapers having wide circulation in the state concerned.

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