Criminalisation of Politics in India

February 27, 2024

General Studies Paper -2

Context: As per the latest data available with the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), about one-third members of Rajya Sabha declared criminal cases against themselves.

Criminalisation of Politics in India

It refers to the involvement of individuals with criminal charges or backgrounds in Indian politics. It means that persons with criminal backgrounds contest in the election and get selected as a member of parliament or state legislature.

Key Findings of ADR

ü Rajya Sabha Candidates: About 36% of Rajya Sabha candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves while the average assets of candidates analysed stood at ₹127.81 crore.

ü Electoral Bonds: The Supreme Court held that the Electoral Bonds Scheme was unconstitutional for violating the right to information of voters

ü Registered Unrecognised Political Parties: According to a report by ADR, the number of registered unrecognised political parties has increased two-fold from 2010 to 2019.

ü Election Commissioners Appointment: ADR argues that the present practice of appointment of Election Commissioners by the Centre is violative of Articles 14 and Article 324 (2) and the basic features of the Constitution.

Major Reasons

Criminalization of political parties is a result of the connection between criminals and politicians and vote-bank politics.
Lack of enforcement of laws and judgments.
lack of ethics, and values, and loopholes in the function of the election commission.
It is also linked to political control of state machinery and corruption.
The political system is unwilling to change the law or the system.

Issues of Criminalization of Politics

Question of safety & security:The main purpose of governance is to provide safety and security to citizens who elect their representatives for this role.
But if the elected members themselves have criminal records, would they be interested in a criminal justice system that is prompt and efficient?
Low conviction rate:As per the National Crime Records Bureau’s 2021 report, only 10,416 cases of murder were disposed of during the year with just a 42.4% conviction rate.
The Law minister has admitted to more than 4.7 crore cases pending in various courts.
Situation in police stations: Politicians play a very powerful role at police stations, compromising both integrity and impartiality of field staff.
In due course, ordinary criminals graduate to be dreaded ones and form gangs extorting money, grabbing land, threatening witnesses in criminal cases, etc.

Measures to Curb Criminalisation

TheVohra Committee set up by the Centre in 1993 sounded a note of warning saying that “some political leaders become the leaders of these groups and, over the years, get themselves elected to local bodies, state assemblies, and the national Parliament.
Law Commission’s 179th report:It recommended an amendment to the Representation of People Act 1951, and suggested the people with criminal backgrounds should be disqualified for five years or until acquittal.
It also recommended that the person who wants to contest the election must furnish details regarding any pending case, with the copy of the FIR/complaint, and also furnish details of all assets.

Related Supreme Court Judgement

In 2002: Every candidate contesting election had to declare his criminal and financial records along with educational qualifications.
In 2005: A sitting MP or MLA will be disqualified from contesting the election if convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more by a court of law.
In 2014: The Supreme Court accepted the Law Commission recommendations and passed an order directing that trials against sitting MPs and MLAs should be concluded within a year of charges being framed and conducted on a day-to-day basis.
As a follow-up to these directives, in 2017, the government started a scheme to establish 12 special courts for a year to fast-track the trial of criminal cases against MPs and MLAs.
In 2021:The political parties need to upload on their websites and social media platforms the details of pending criminal cases against their candidates and the reasons for selecting them as also for not giving tickets to those without criminal antecedents.
Recently,the Supreme Court published some necessary mandates to avert the criminalisation of politics as many lawsuits have been withdrawn against MPs and MLAs in the past.

Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)

ü It is an apolitical and non-partisan non-profit organisation in India that was established in 1999 by a group of professors from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad.

ü It focuses on corruption and criminalization in the political process, empowerment of the electorate through greater dissemination of information relating to the candidates and the parties etc.

ü It has published numerous reports on the criminal backgrounds, financial details, and other relevant information of candidates contesting in various elections.

Conclusion and Way Forward

The criminalisation of politics in India is a grave issue that needs immediate attention. The involvement of criminals in politics not only undermines the democratic process but also hampers the development of the nation.
There is a need to fix the role of Political Parties that should be more transparent and accountable in their candidate selection process.
The Election Commission of India and other respective authorities need to take transparency measures about the Political Parties and their funding to the People of India so that they can make informed decisions while exercising their vote.
It is high time that stringent measures are taken to curb this menace and restore faith in the democratic system.