The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : "Furnishing inaccurate information attracts no disqualification"

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Friday, Jun 08, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

"Furnishing inaccurate information attracts no disqualification"

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Even if a candidate furnishes inaccurate information about assets and liabilities, "rejection of nomination paper on the ground of furnishing wrong information or suppressing material information should not be enforced," according to directions issued in 2003 by the Election Commission.

Experts here are of the view that when even the nomination papers cannot be rejected, a candidate, who has won, certainly cannot be disqualified from holding elected office. There have been no further changes in this rule.

It was in pursuance of a May 2002 Supreme Court judgment that the Election Commission ordered, on June 28, 2002 that, among other things, "furnishing wrong or incomplete information or suppression of any material information by any candidate in or from the said affidavit may also result in rejection of his nomination paper where such wrong or incomplete information or suppression of material information is considered by the returning officer to be a defect of substantial character apart from inviting penal consequences under the Indian Penal Code for furnishing wrong information to a public servant or suppression of material facts before him."

"Provided that only such information shall be considered to be wrong or incomplete or amounting to suppression of material information as is capable of easy verification by the returning officer by reference to documentary proof adduced before him in the summary inquiry conducted by him... " Subsequent to this, the President promulgated the Representation of People (Amendment) Ordinance, 2002 (No. 4 of 2002) on August 24, 2002, to render ineffective the EC order of June 28, 2002. Many associations, including the People's Union for Civil Liberties, challenged the constitutional validity of the Ordinance.

It was based on the observations of the Supreme Court in this petition that an Election Commission order on March 23, 2003, said that the law on disqualification should not be enforced if a candidate furnished inaccurate information on assets and liabilities. It also said, "The information furnished by each candidate in the affidavit shall be disseminated by the respective returning officers by displaying a copy of the affidavit on the notice board of his office and also by making the copies thereof available freely and liberally to all other candidates and the representatives of the print and electronic media."

It further states "If any rival candidate furnishes information to the contrary, by means of a duly sworn affidavit, then such affidavit of the rival candidate shall also be disseminated along with the affidavit of the candidate concerned."

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