By Meetu Jain
New Delhi, 10 August 2021: The Supreme Court has penalized nine political parties, including the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, holding them guilty of contempt. The Supreme Court maintained that persons with criminal antecedents and involved in the criminalization of politics cannot be permitted to be lawmakers. Ahead of the 2020 Bihar assembly polls, the court had ordered all parties to publish antecedents of candidates within 48 hours of being selected.
Reacting to the apathy of the government in decriminalizing the political system, a bench headed by Justice R F Nariman said, “The nation continues to wait and is losing patience. Cleansing the polluted stream of politics is obviously not one of the immediate pressing concerns of the legislative branch of government.”
The bench, also comprising justice B R Gavai, imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh each on two political parties, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Nationalist Congress Party, saying that they have not at all complied with the directions issued by this court.
It also imposed a fine of Rs one lakh each on the Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Lok Janshakti Party, Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Communist Party of India and asked them to deposit the money within eight weeks with the poll panel.
The poll panel had said that 469 candidates, having criminal antecedents, were fielded by 10 political parties in the recently held Bihar Assembly polls.
