Kolkata: Ahead of the Assembly elections in four States, a parliamentary standing committee is planning to submit the first part of its report on disqualification of a candidate in the pre-conviction stage on charges against state and on grounds of disturbing the public peace.

E. M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, chairman of the panel on personnel, public grievances, law and justice, on Tuesday said it was trying to get the views of all political parties on whether a ``person facing criminal trial for an offence, punishable with a jail term for five years and above, against the state and for disturbing the public tranquillity, should be disqualified from contesting elections.''

This was part of the Election Commission's effort to stop criminalisation of politics, he said.

The final part of the report would address preparation of electoral rolls, the need for mobile booths, anti-defection laws, tackling booth capturing, issue of photo identity cards, delimitation, seat reservation in Parliament and state funding of candidates.

``We are looking into the aspect of debarring candidates in the pre-conviction stage, based on a request received by the Law Ministry in December 2006 from the Commission."

The committee would compare previous reports and their recommendations and make its final submissions by June.

The CPI (M) was among the parties which responded to the 28-point questionnaire sent by the committee.

Another questionnaire on judicial reforms was circulated among the Bar Councils.

Mr. Natchiappan and his parliamentary team were here look into the working of the public grievance redress mechanism with the chiefs of public sector undertakings and State Government officials.

Judicial activism

To a question on judicial activism, jurist Ram Jethmalani, who was also here, said that while the term was misunderstood, courts were bound to deal with complaints brought by the public. ``People knock on the doors of courts because politicians fail to satisfy them.''

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