New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea seeking a direction to the Election Commission to cancel the registration of political parties for hiding criminal case records of candidates and reasons for their selection.
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by advocate and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana regarding Samajwadi Party’s decision to field alleged gangster Nahid Hassan from Uttar Pradesh has been filed. Elections to the Kairana assembly seat are due next month.
Upadhyay claimed that the party did not disclose the criminal history of Nahid Hasan through its website or print or social media and allowed him to file nominations. He said that concealment of past criminal record violates the fundamental right of the citizen to vote freely and fairly as provided under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution.
During the assembly elections last year, the Supreme Court had held eight political parties guilty of contempt of court for violating directions not to publish criminal history.
The petitioner has sought urgent hearing of the matter. However, the Supreme Court did not specify any date for hearing the matter.
first published:Jan. 18, 2022, 12:12 p.m.
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