Only Parliament can tweak law, bar criminals: Election Commission

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Monday reasserted that a candidate should be barred from contesting election on framing of charges in heinous offences but told the Supreme Court that barring candidates or derecognising a political party which fields candidates with criminal antecedents would require amendments to the Representation of People Act and this fell within the domain of the legislature.
The EC said it had flagged the issue on many occasions and had mentioned it in the electoral reforms proposals published by it in 2004 and 2016. “The EC has actively taken steps for decriminalisation of politics and has also made recommendations in that regard. However, any further steps to effectively decriminalise politics would require legislative amendments which are beyond the scope of the commission,” it said. A bench of Justices K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna asked the Centre to file its reply in four weeks.