The Supreme Court ordered political parties to publish the entire criminal history of their candidates

The Supreme Court ordered political parties to publish the entire criminal history of their candidates for the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections along with the reasons that goaded them to field suspected criminals over decent people.

 

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The information should be published in a local and a national newspaper as well as the parties’ social media handles.

It should mandatorily be published either within 48 hours of the selection of candidates or less than two weeks before the first date for filing of nominations, whichever is earlier.

It ordered political parties to submit compliance reports with the Election Commission of India within 72 hours or risk contempt of court action.

The judgment is applicable to parties both at the Central and State levels.

The published information on the criminal antecedents of a candidate should be detailed and include the nature of the offences, charges framed against him, the court concerned and the case number.