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Section 2 of Representation Of The People Act - Interpretation
Description
This Act may be called The Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Object & Reasons? |
Statement of Objects and Reasons. During the last Budget Sessions of Parliament the Representation of the People Act, 1950, was passed. It did not contain all the provisions relating to elections but merely provided for the allocation of seats in and the delimitation of, constituencies for the purpose of elections to the House of the People and Legislatures of States, the qualifications of voters at such elections and the preparation of electoral rolls. Provisions for the actual conduct of elections to the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State, the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of these Houses, the corrupt and illegal practices and other election offences, and the decision of election disputes were all left to be made in a subsequent measure. The Bill seeks to make those provisions. Amendment Act 67 of 1951-Statement of Objects and Reasons. Under the Constitution the tribal areas specified in Part B of the Table appended to paragraph 20 of the Sixth Schedule thereto are comprised within the State of Assam but their administration is carried on by the President through the Governor of Assam as an agent on the same footing as a territory specified in Part D of the First Schedule. These areas have, accordingly, been taken out of the purview of clause (1) of article 81 and article 170 of the Constitution so far as Assam is concerned by the Constitution (Removal of Difficulties) Order No. VIII made by the President under article 392 of the Constitution. Clause (2) of article 81 and article 82 of the Constitution were also amended by the said order so as to confer power on Parliament to provide for the representation of those areas in the House of the People. No provision has, however, been made in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 for the representation of those areas in the House of the People. Clauses 2 to 5 of the Bill seek to make provisions for the representation of the said areas in the House of the People. Clause 8 of the Bill seeks to make a consequential amendment in section 4 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (XLIII of 1951). Opportunity has also been taken to make certain essential amendments in sections 39(2) and 58 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Clause 9 which amends sub-section (2) of section 39 of the said Act seeks to supply an omission in the said sub-section. Section 58 provides for the taking of a fresh poll in a polling station in the case where any ballot box used at such polling station has been destroyed or tampered with. This provision will necessitate the taking of a fresh poll in the whole of the polling station even in the case where a polling station has more than one polling booth and the ballot box which has been so destroyed or tampered with had been used at one of such booths. The amendment proposed in section 58 by clause 10 of the Bill seeks to restrict the holding of a fresh poll in such cases only to the polling booth where the ballot box which has been destroyed or tampered with was used so that the voters who were entitled to vote at such polling booth will only be required to vote during such fresh election. Amendment Act 88 of 1956-Statement of Objects and Reasons. While section 74(2) of the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Act, 1956, removes the disqualification for voting at an election incurred by any person under the repealed section 143 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, for default in making a return of election expenses no provision was made in the amending act for the removal of disqualification for membership incurred by that person under section 7(c) of the principal Act for the same default. The last mentioned section was amended reducing the maximum period of disqualification from five years to three years and the provisions relating to returns of election expenses were also considerably modified in their scope by the amending Act. Despite this provision the disqualification for membership previously incurred under section 7(c) of the principal Act might, on a strict view of the law, be held to continue for a full period unless in any particular case it is reduced by the Election Commission. Since the number of such persons is reported to be over 6,000, it is proposed that their disqualification for membership of Parliament or of a State Legislature should be removed by an express statutory provision. The amending Act has done away with minor corrupt practices and illegal practices by repealing sections 124 and 125 of the principal Act and has also cut down the member, and reduced the scope of the corrupt practices mentioned in section 123 thereof. Section 72(2) of the amending Act further provided that any disqualification for membership entailed by any act which has ceased to be a corrupt or illegal practice under the principal Act, as amended, shall stand removed. The application of this general provision to concrete cases might lead to doubts and disputes which it seems desirable to avoid. It is, therefore, proposed to make an express legal provision that every disqualification for membership or for voting incurred by any person for an illegal practice or for a corrupt practice other than that of bribery or undue influence shall stand removed. Section 7(e) of the principal Act disqualifies for membership any person who is a director or managing agent of or holds an office of profit under any corporation in which the appropriate Government has any share or financial interest. The wide wording of this section, and in particular the reference to financial interest of Government has led to unforeseen difficulties. It can be argued that all local authorities, including even the District Councils established by the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution for the autonomous Districts of Assam and co-operative societies are corporations in which the Government has financial interest. It is doubtful whether this result was intended. It is, therefore, proposed in clause 3 of the Bill to restrict the scope of section 7(e) of the Act to companies and corporations, other than co-operative societies in the capital of which the Government has not less than 25 per cent share. Amendment Act 33 of 1964-Statement of Objects and Reasons. A member of the armed forced of the Union is by virtue of section 20(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, deemed to be ordinarily resident in his house constituency and, therefore, is eligible for registration as a voter in the electoral roll for such constituency, although on account of exigencies of service he may be away from, and not ordinarily resident in the home constituency at the time of the preparation or revision of the electoral roll. As a corollary to this, a member of the Armed Forces of the Union is by virtue of section 60 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, entitled to give his vote by postal ballot. 2. Such facilities are not, however, available to the members of the Armed police forces of a State, when they are employed on duty outside the State. This is anomalous, it is proposed to remove this anomaly by bringing such members of the Armed Police forces of a State on a par with the members of the Armed forces of the Union. 3. The Bill seeks to achieve this object by amending section 20 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and section 60 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Amendment Act 47 of 1966-Statement of Objects and Reasons. The Election Commissioner has made a number of recommendations for the amendment of the election law and procedure in its Report on the Third General Elections in India in 1962 and subsequently. After careful examination, the Government have decided to accept those recommendations excepting those relating to election expenditure, increase in security deposit, multiplicity of candidates and deposit in connection with Presidential election. The important recommendations which have been accepted by the Government relate to the following matters- (i) Consolidation of the provisions relating to seats and delimitation orders; (ii) creation of a new officer to be known as the district election officer in the electoral machinery of the country who would be an officer of the Government designated or nominated by the Election Commission in consultation with the State Government and would occupy a position in the electoral hierarchy between the chief electoral officer of the State and the returning officer for the constituency and be in charge of the preparation and revision of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections; (iii) revision of electoral rolls according to the direction of the Election Commission and not otherwise; (iv) consolidation of the provisions relating to disqualifications for membership and voting; (v) lessening the rigour of the disqualification resulting from the failure to lodge accounts of election expenses; (vi) conferment of power upon the Election Commission to delegate its functions to Senior Officers of the Commission; (vii) reduction in the time-table for the General Elections by seven days by making suitable changes on the relevant provisions of the 1951-Act; (viii) provision for fresh poll in the case of destruction or loss, etc., of ballot papers at the time of counting; (ix) power of Election Commission in suitable cases to withhold the declaration of results of election; (x) abolition of Election Tribunals and trial of election petitions by High Court; (xi) making free conveyance of voters a corrupt practice and enhancement of the punishment for the offence; (xii) obtaining the assistance of a Government employee as a polling or counting agent by a candidate not to be a corrupt practice but penalty for a Government employee acting as an election agent or polling agent or a counting agent of a candidate to be imposed; (xiii) certain offences by election officers to be cognizable. Amendment Act 10 of 1967-Statement of Objects and Reasons. A lame duck session of Parliament with the old Lok Sabha summoned on the 13th of March, 1967 following the precedents of 1957 and 1962 was considered an anachronism in several quarters in view of the fact that declaration of results of elections from practically all the Parliamentary constituencies barring a very few for the purpose of constituting the new Lok Sabha has already been made. It was felt that it would be more appropriate to hold a session of Parliament with the new Lok Sabha in place of the lame duck session. As Parliament was not in session and immediate action was called for, the President promulgated on the 28th February, 1967, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1967 to amend suitably section 73 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, thus paving the way for the Election Commission for the immediate issue of the due constitution notification under the said section as so amended. Amendment Act 58 of 1974-Statement of Objects and Reasons. Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, provides that the total of the expenditure in connection with an election incurred or authorised by the candidate or his election agent between the date of the publication of the notification calling the election and the date of declaration of the result thereof shall not exceed such amount as may be prescribed. Rule 90 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, seeks to lay down the maximum election expenses for a Parliamentary constituency and an Assembly constituency in respect of various States and the Union territories. Clause (6) of section 123 of the Representation of the People Act has specifically included the incurring or authorising of expenditure in contravention of section 77 as a corrupt practice, which, if established, would not only vitiate the election, but also result in disqualifying the candidate for a period of six years under section 8-A of the said Act. In the Election Law, the emphasis has been on imposing a curb on an individual incurring expenditure in connection with his election in excess of the prescribed limit. The provision contained in section 77 of the Act is very specific in this respect and the intention that the curb is on the expenditure incurred or authorized by the candidate has found support in the judicial pronouncements on the point. The expression "incurred or authorized" had not been construed so as to bring within its purview the expenditure incurred by a political party in its campaign or by any person other than the candidate unless incurred by such third person as the candidate's agent. In other words, the provisions of section 77 and clause (6) of section 123 have been intended and understood to be restraints on the candidates election expenditure and not on the expenditure of a political party. However, in the recent case of Kanwar Lal Gupta v. A.N. Citazola and other (Civil Appeal No. 1549 of 1972 decided on 3rd October, 1974), the Supreme Court has interpreted the aforementioned expression "incurred or authorized" as including within its scope expenses incurred by a political party or other person referred to above. In view of the effect which such interpretation might have particularly with reference to the candidates against whom election petitions are pending, it became urgently necessary to clarify the intention underlying the provisions contained in section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, namely, that in computing the maximum amount under that section any expenditure incurred or authorized by any other person or body of persons or political parties should not be taken into account. A Parliament was not in session, the President promulgated on 19th October, 1974, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1974. Amendment Act 40 of 1975-Statement of Objects and Reasons. Section 79(b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, defines the expression "candidate" as including a person who has held himself out as a prospective candidate. By virtue of this a person may be deemed to be a candidate at an election for a long period even before the issue of the notification calling the election. So far as election expenses are concerned section 77 of the Act as substituted in 1956 limits the returnable expenses only to the expenses incurred between the date of the publication of the notification calling the election and the date of declaration of the result thereof. In view of this it will be anomalous to retain the concept of prospective candidate for other purposes. It is, therefore, proposed to amend the definition of "candidate" in clause (b) of section 79 of the Act so as to provide that a person shall be deemed to be a candidate at an election from the date of publication of the notification calling the election and not from any earlier date and also to make the necessary consequential modification in the definition of the same expression in section 171-A of the Indian Penal Code. 2. Under clause (3) of section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the use of or appeal to, religious symbols or national symbols for the furtherance of the prospects of the election of a candidate or for prejudicially affecting the election of a candidate constitutes a corrupt practice. It is proposed to make it clear that symbols allotted under the Act to candidates shall not be deemed to be religious symbols or national symbols for the purposes of this clause. 3. According to clause (7) of section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the obtaining by a candidate of any assistance for the furtherance of the prospects of that candidate's election from certain classes of persons in the service of the Government amounts to a corrupt practice. It is proposed to make it clear that acts done for or in relation to a candidate by a person in the service of Government in the discharge or purported discharge of his official duty will not amount to assistance in furtherance of the prospects of that candidate's election. It is also proposed to make it clear that the expenditure incurred on the performance of such acts should not be included in the election expenditure of the candidate for the purposes of section 77 of the Act. 4. It is further proposed to amend clause (7) of section 123 to make it clear that the publication in the Official Gazette of the appointment, resignation, termination of service, dismissal or removal from service of a person in the service of the Government and of the date of taking effect thereof shall be conclusive proof of such appointment, resignation, termination, dismissal or removal from service and the date of taking effect thereof. 5. The amendments proposed to be made in the Representation of the People Act will have retrospective effect so as to apply to elections held before the date of enactment of the Bill in respect of which election petitions may be filed or are pending. Amendment Act 9 of 1985-Statement of Objects and Reasons. Sub-section (2) of section 14 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 enables the President to call upon, by one or more notifications published in the Gazette of India on such date or dates as may be recommended by the Election, Commission, all Parliamentary constituencies to elect members in accordance with the provisions of the said Act and of the rules and orders made thereunder for the purpose of constituting a new House of the People on the expiration of the duration of the existing House or on its dissolution. 2. In respect of the general election for constituting the Eighth Lok Sabha, the Election Commission had recommended that the presidential notification under section 14(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 might be issued on the 20th November, 1984 calling upon all Parliamentary constituencies other than those within the States of Assam and Punjab to elect members in accordance with the provisions of that Act and of the rules and orders made thereunder. In the case of Assam, the Commission felt that the revision of the electoral rolls which it had undertaken in pursuance of the undertaking given by it to the Supreme Court would take time and that the question of holding elections from the Parliamentary constituencies in Assam could be taken up only after the completion of such revision. In the case of Punjab, the Commission was satisfied on the basis of the report of the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab and also the State Government regarding the existing law and order situation in that State that elections from the constituencies in that State could not be held with the rest of the country. The Commission accordingly decided to fix a separate programme in due course with respect to the elections from the Parliamentary constituencies in Assam and Punjab and recommended that suitable provisions might be made in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to provide the legal cover with regard to the postponing of the elections from the Parliamentary constituencies in the States of Assam and Punjab. The Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1984 was accordingly promulgated by the President on the 20th November, 1984. Amendment Act 1 of 1989-Statement of Objects and Reasons. The Election Law, so as far as elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures are concerned, is contained in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The former deals with the matters pertaining to elections prior to the stage of actual elections and the latter deals with the actual conduct of elections and all matters connected herewith. These two Acts have been amended periodically in order to bring about improvements in the election system in the light of the experience gained in the working of these Acts. 2. Our election system has stood the test of time. Several rounds of elections and bye-elections have been held by the Election Commission and the poll has, on the whole, been free and fair. The people of India have also shown considerable maturity in exercising their right of franchise. 3. The question of introducing electoral reforms and making suitable changes in the Election Law to prevent the occurrence of corrupt practices, which vitiate the conduct of free and fair elections, have been under consideration for some time now. The experience gained over the years, also emphasises the need for further strengthening the measures for ensuring free and fair elections. The Election Commission has also forwarded several proposals for electoral reforms. 4. The various proposals for electoral reforms were widely debated. Government were keen to bring about necessary electoral reforms, consultations were held with the political parties in order to ascertain their specific views in the matter. Keeping in view the various suggestions, it has been decided to bring about amendments in the existing Election Laws. 5. The proposals contained in the present Bill are briefly explained below:- (i) At present, all the work relating to the preparation, revision and correction of the electoral rolls and the actual conduct of elections, is carried out by the designated officers of the State Governments concerned. It is felt that the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Representation of the People Act, 1951, in this regard should be clearly defined so that during the relevant period, these officers would, while discharging functions relating to elections, be under the control, superintendence and discipline of the Election Commission. (ii) At present, there is no statutory definition of political party in the Election Law. The recognition of a political party and the allotment of symbols for each party are presently regulated under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. It is felt that the Election Law should define political party and lay down the procedure for its registration. It is also felt that the political parties should be required to include a specific provision in the memorandum or rules or regulations governing their functioning that they would fully be committed to and abide by the principles enshrined in the preamble to the Constitution. (iii) Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, deals with disqualification on the ground of conviction for certain offences. It is proposed to include more offences in this section so as to prevent persons having criminal record enter into public life. (iv) For the purpose of preventing frivolous candidates in respect of election to the Council of States and the Legislative Council of States, it is proposed to increase the number of proposers to ten per cent. of the total electorate or ten proposers, whichever is less. (v) Technology has made very rapid strides thereby favourably affecting several fields of human activity and leading to betterment all round. It is felt that appropriate modern electronic processes should be deployed, side by side, with the existing conventional systems in the voting process. Since the Representation of the People Act, 1951 specifically makes mention only of the ballot paper system of voting, it is proposed to make suitable amendments in the Act in order to facilitate the use of electronic voting machines. (vi) Booth capturing and rigging of elections had been on the increase in the recent past. This evil practice takes different forms, ranging from physical threat to the voter to forcible occupation of polling stations. A large part of our electorate consists of people who are poor and also belong to weaker sections of the society. It is, therefore, necessary to deal with this evil firmly. The Election Law, as it stands, does not contain any provisions to deal with this offence. It has, therefore, been proposed to include specific and penal provisions in the Representation of the People Act, 1951, to deal with this offence and to make it also as a corrupt practice. (vii) The present penalty for disturbing election meetings is only a meagre fine of Rs. 250. It is proposed to modify this provision by providing for a term of imprisonment for three months and also enhance the quantum of the fine to Rs. 1,000. Amendment Act 2 of 1990-Statement of Objects and Reasons. In respect of general election for constituting the Ninth Lok Sabha, the Election Commission had recommended that the Presidential notification under section 14(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 might be issued on the 23rd October, 1989 calling upon all Parliamentary constituencies other than those within the State of Assam to elect members in accordance with the provisions of that Act and of the rules and orders made thereunder. In the case of Assam, as the revised electoral rolls had not been published in the final form, the question of holding elections from the Parliamentary constituencies in Assam could be taken up only after such final publication of the revised electoral rolls. The Commission, accordingly, decided to fix a separate programme in due course with respect to the elections from the Parliamentary constituencies in Assam and recommended that suitable provisions might be made in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to provide legal cover with regard to the postponing of the elections from the Parliamentary constituencies in Assam. The Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1989 was accordingly promulgated by the President on the 21st October, 1989. Amendment Act 31 of 1991-Statement of Objects and Reasons. For the general election for the Tenth Lok Sabha, the Election Commission has recommended that the Presidential notification under section 14(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 might be issued on the 19th April, 1991 calling upon all Parliamentary constituencies other than those within the State of Jammu and Kashmir to elect members in accordance with the provisions of that Act and of the rules and orders made thereunder. The notification was issued accordingly. In the case of Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission felt that the situation was not conducive to the conduct of free and fair elections and that the poll schedule for election in that State will be announced by it at a later date after taking into account all relevant factors. The Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1991 (Ordinance 2 of 1991) was promulgated by the President on the 18th April, 1991 to enable the Election Commission to constitute the Tenth Lok Sabha under section 73 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 without taking into account the Parliamentary constituencies in the State of Jammu and Kashmir and to provide legal cover with regard to the postponing of the elections from the Parliamentary constituencies in the said State. Amendment Act 2 of 1992-Statement of Objects and Reasons. Section 52 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 provided for the countermanding of a poll on the death of a candidate. Due to the rise of terrorism and violence in certain parts of the country combined with the phenomenal increase in the number of independent candidates, the danger of disruption of the election process had increased. One of the measures suggested to prevent such disruption and danger to the lives of independent candidates, who are an easy prey to terrorism, was to amend the aforesaid provision so as to restrict the countermanding of election only to the death of a candidate belonging to a recognised political party. In 1985, when elections were due to be held in Punjab, such an amendment was carried out through an Ordinance which was, however, subsequently allowed to lapse. This question was also examined by the Electoral Reforms Committee set up in 1990 under the Chairmanship of then Minister of Law and Justice. The Committee recommended substitution of section 52 and a provision to this effect had been included in the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 1990, which is pending in the Rajya Sabha. 2. Meanwhile, general elections were announced in Punjab. In view of the situation prevailing in Punjab and in order to prevent the possible disruption of the election process and the danger to the lives of the contesting candidates, it was considered imperative to amend section 52 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, by means of an Ordinance. The said Ordinance was accordingly promulgated by the President on 4th January, 1992. Amendment Act 21 of 1996-Statement of Objects and Reasons. Electoral reform is a continuous process and the two enactments dealing with elections to Parliament and the State Legislatures, namely, the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1951-Act") have been amended from time to time for the purpose. Proposals for comprehensive amendments to Electoral Law received from the Election Commission and others considered by the Committee on Electoral Reforms in 1990 have been under the consideration of Government. Keeping in view the proposals received and the views expressed by the various political parties, it has been decided to bring about comprehensive amendments in the two aforementioned enactments. The present Bill seeks to give effect to the said recommendations. The salient features of the Bill are as under:- (1) Section 8 of the 1951-Act is proposed to be amended to provide that a person convicted of an offence punishable under section 2 or section 3 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 shall be disqualified for a period of six years from the date of such conviction. (2) It is proposed to insert a new section 20-B in the 1951-Act to enable the Election Commission to nominate Observers to watch the conduct of elections and such Observers will have the power to direct the Returning Officers to stop the counting of votes or not to declare the result in certain contingencies like booth capturing, etc. (3) Section 30 of the 1951-Act is proposed to be amended to provide for the reduction of the time for campaign to 14 days. (4) Section 33 of the 1951-Act is proposed to be amended to provide that- (a) nomination of a candidate not set up by a recognised political party has to be subscribed by ten persons being electors from the constituency; (b) a person shall not be nominated as a candidate for election in more than two constituencies of the same class. (5) Section 34 of the 1951-Act is proposed to be amended to increase the security deposits of candidates. It is proposed to provide that for Parliament and Assembly elections the security deposit shall be five thousand rupees and for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes two thousand five hundred rupees. (6) Sub-section (2) of section 38 of the 1951-Act which provides for listing of the names, etc., of the contesting candidates is proposed to be amended so as to provide that for the purposes of listing, candidates shall be classified into three categories, namely, candidates of recognised political parties, candidates of registered political parties and other candidates. The said category shall be arranged in the order specified therein and the names of the candidates shall be arranged in alphabetical order. (7) Section 52 of the 1951-Act is proposed to be amended to provide that on the death of a candidate an election shall, instead of being countermanded, only be adjourned. (8) New section 151-A is proposed to be inserted in the 1951-Act to provide for holding of bye-elections within a period of six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy. (9) Certain further amendments are also proposed to ensure peaceful conduct of elections by reducing the influence of money and muscle power by prohibiting the carrying of arms, etc., on the polling day. Amendment Act 12 of 1998-Statement of Objects and Reasons. Clause (6) of article 324 of the Constitution provides that, on the request of the Election Commission, the President or the Governor of a State shall make available to the Election Commission such staff as may be necessary for the discharge of its functions. Further, section 159 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 provides that every local authority in a State shall, when so requested by a Regional Commissioner or the chief electoral officer of the State, make available to any Returning Officer such staff as may be necessary for the performance of any duties in connection with an election. 2. The Supreme Court of India, taking note of the aforesaid provisions of law, held in its judgment dated the 7th February, 1995 in Civil Appeal No. 6026 of 1993-Election Commission of India v. State Batik of India Staff Association, Patna and Civil Appeal No. 4611 of 1989-Election Conunission of India v. Northern Zone Insurance Employees Association, Rajasthan (1995) 2 (Supp.) S.C.C. 13, that the Election Commission cannot requisition the services of employees of State Bank of India and Life Insurance Corporation of India for election duties as such employees are neither employees of the Central Government nor of a State Government nor of a local authority. It observed that the persons whose services may be placed at the disposal of the Election Commission must be persons who are either employees of the Central Government or of the State Government or of local authorities. 3. In view of the aforesaid judgments of the Supreme Court, difficulty was being experienced by the Election Commission in deploying the requisite number of employees for election duties. The Election Commission, accordingly, requested that section 159 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 may be amended to provide that,.in addition to local authorities, all public sector undertakings of the Central Government and State Governments, all statutory and non-statutory bodies aided by the Government, all universities and all other educational institutions aided by the Government should also make their staff available for election duties. 4. In the wake of general elections to the Twelfth Lok Sabha, the President promulgated an Ordinance, namely, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1997 on 23rd December, 1997 to provide for requisitioning of services for election work of employees of, apart from local authorities, every university and any other institution, concern or undertaking (not being an institution, concern or undertaking established under a Central, Provincial or State Act or a company within the meaning of section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956) controlled, or financed wholly or substantially by funds provided, directly or indirectly, by the Central Government or a State Government. The President promulgated the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1998 on 24th April, 1998 to give continued effect to the provisions of the aforesaid 1997 Ordinance and to avoid any difficulty to the Election Commission in holding elections in the interregnum. 5. It has since been decided that apart from the categories of employees brought under the ambit of section 159 of the Act by the aforesaid Ordinances, employees of public sector enterprises, etc., should also be brought under the ambit of that section. Amendment Act 72 of 2002-Statement of Objects and Reasons. In compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 7178 of 2001 (Union of India v. Association for Democratic Reforms and another), the Election Commission of India exercising powers under Article 324 of the Constitution, issued an order on the 28th June, 2002 prescribing a form of affidavit to be sworn by the candidates alongwith their nomination papers for elections to Parliament and State Legislatures. It was provided in the order that failure to provide information required to be furnished on affidavit may result in rejection of the nomination paper. The information required to be furnished in the affidavit, inter alia, related to criminal cases pending against the candidates, their assets and liabilities as well as their educational qualifications. The Government held a meeting of the political parties on the 8th July, 2002 with a view to evolving consensus regarding amendments required in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 as well as nomination forms so as to take care of some of the concerns expressed in the directions of the Supreme Court on the subject of criminalisation of politics. The representatives of the various political parties unanimously expressed the view that there was need to curb criminalisation of politics and suggested that a draft Bill be circulated for consideration of the political parties. A draft Bill was accordingly prepared and discussed in the meeting of the political parties held on 2-8-2002, which was listed for introduction in the Lok Sabha on 12-8-2002, but due to prorogation of the Monsoon Session could not be introduced. The Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 2002, was therefore promulgated on 24-8-2002 and amendment were also carried out in the nomination forms appended to the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 on 3-9-2002, in pursuance of the said Ordinance. The present Bill, which replaces the said Ordinance contains the following salient features:- (i) a candidate contesting an election for Parliament or State Legislature would be required to disclose as to whether he is accused of any offence punishable with imprisonment for two years or more in a pending case in which charges have been framed and as to whether he has been convicted of an offence in which the punishment has been awarded for one year or more, for the information of the voters. However, a candidate would be required to furnish information only under a law made by Parliament or the rules made thereunder, and not otherwise; (ii) an elected candidate has to declare his assets and liabilities before the Presiding Officer of the House concerned; (iii) a candidate contesting an election would be liable for penal consequences for filing a false affidavit or concealing the required information. He would also be liable for similar consequences for giving false information or concealing required information in his nomination paper to be filed before the returning officer. Amendment Act 46 of 2003-Statement of Objects and Reasons. The Election and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2002 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on the 19th March, 2002. The said Bill, inter ilia, provided for donations to the political parties, report thereof to the Election Commission, the audit of the accounts of donation as reported, allocation of equitable sharing of time to the political parties, free supply of copies of electoral rolls to the candidates of recognised political parties, supply of identity slips of electors to candidates, amendment of section 13-A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to raise the limit of voluntary contribution in respect of which no record is required to be maintained by a political party, from ten thousand rupees to twenty thousand rupees (which is not to be liable to be included in the total income of the previous year of such political party). The Bill also provided for income-tax relief in relation to donation given by companies or individuals to the political parties. The aforesaid Bill was referred to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs and the Committee presented its report on the Bill to both Houses of Parliament on 18th December, 2002. Since some recommendations made by the said Standing Committee were substantive in nature, it has been considered appropriate by the Government to withdraw the said Bill and to introduce a fresh Bill on the lines recommended by the said Parliamentary Standing Committee. The salient features of the proposed Bill, inter alia, are as follows:- (a) It provides for contributions from companies and individuals to the political parties and the declaration thereof by the political parties to the Election Commission of India where the contribution received is in excess of twenty thousand rupees. Such declaration shall be submitted by the treasurer of the political party or any other person authorised by a political party in this behalf. (b) It contains provision for equitable sharing of time by the recognised political parties on the cable television network and other electronic media. (c) It substitutes Explanations 1 and 3 to section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 by new Explanations which elaborates the expression "leaders of the political parties" and contains provisions for not including the travelling expenses of such leaders in connection with the election and the expenditure incurred by the Government officials in respect of safety arrangements in the election expenditure. (d) It contains provisions for free supply of copies of electoral rolls by the Government to the candidates of recognised political parties. It also contains provisions for supply of such items by the Election Commission as are decided in consultation with it by the Central Government, to the electors or to the candidates set up by the recognised political parties. (e) It is proposed to amend section 13-A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to raise to rupees twenty thousand voluntary contribution in respect of which no record is to be maintained by the political parties. The Bill also contains provisions to provide income-tax relief in relation to the contribution given by the companies and individuals to political parties. (f) Certain consequential amendments have been made in these provisions to align them with other provisions of the Bill and the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Amendment Act 2 of 2004-Statement of Objects and Reasons. Section 13-AA was inserted in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 in the year 1966. The said section provides for designation or nomination of an officer as the district election officer for each district in a State, other than a Union territory, as the chief electoral officer was unable to cope up with the burden of the election work. At that time, there was no concept of districts in the Union territories and therefore, the provision of district election officer was not made applicable to the Union territories. The district election officer coordinates and supervises the work relating to preparation and revision of electoral rolls and conduct of elections for all parliamentary, assembly and council constituencies within the district concerned. 2. The Election Commission has stated that the Union territories are now divided into districts for administrative efficiency and has, therefore, recommended amendment of section 13-AA to provide for designation or nomination of district election officers in the Union territories including the National Capital Territory of Delhi, which will facilitate better management of elections in the Union territories. The Election Commission has also requested that in view of the ensuring general election of the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, urgent action may be taken to carry out the proposed amendments and accordingly, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 2003 (Ord. 5 of 2003) was promulgated on 29-10-2003. 3. By the said Ordinance section 13-AA of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 was amended to provide for nomination or designation of district election officers in all the Union territories and consequential amendments were also carried out in section 26 and 78 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Amendment Act 41 of 2009-Statement of Objects and Reasons. In any Parliamentary form of Government and in a democracy, the process of election has to be free, fair and equitable. During the years, it has been felt that it is necessary to take some need-based measures to remove certain loopholes noticed in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950) and the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951). In July, 2004, the Election Commission of India had forwarded a set of 22 proposals on electoral reforms to the Government for consideration. 2. While considering the proposals of the Election Commission, it was considered appropriate to examine certain proposals in respect of the electoral reforms. The following five proposals have been examined by the Government which relates to amendments of the aforesaid Acts of 1950 and 1951. The said amendments are as follows:- (a) the Representation of the People Act, 1950: appointment of the appellate authority within the district against the orders of the electoral registration officers (amendment of section 24); (b) the Representation of the People Act, 1951:- (i) simplification of procedure for disqualification of a person found guilty of corrupt practices (specifying a time limit in section 8-A); (ii) increase in the security deposit of the candidates nominated for elections (amendment of section 34); (iii) inclusion in section 123(7) of all officials appointed in connection with the conduct of elections so as to bring them within the ambit of corrupt practices, if they indulge in furtherance of the prospects of the candidates at elections; and (iv) restricting the publication of results of all exit polls by whatever means till the last poll in an election is held, by insertion of new sections 126-A and 126-B. This is considered necessary due to the complexities of the election process, which is increasing day-by-day, and as such elections are being held in several phases. In such staggering of election schedules over a large period of time it is felt that the telecast of exit polls after each phase of polling affects the outcome in the subsequent phase of elections. It is believed that such telecast of exit polls affect the turnout of voters' also. |
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