Representation of the People Act, 1950

The Act was enacted to provide for:

 the allocation of seats in Lok Sabha and State Legislatures
 the delimitation of constituencies for the elections to Lok
Sabha and State Legislatures
 the qualifications of voters
 the preparation of electoral rolls
 the manner of filling seats in the Rajya Sabha to be filled by
representatives of UTs
Allocation of Seats
 The Act provides for the direct election to Lok Sabha and
State Legislatures
 The First Schedule lists the number of seats allocated to
various States in the Lok Sabha including the seats reserved
for SCs and STs
 The Second Schedule lists the number of seats provided for
each State Assembly including the seats reserved for SCs and
STs
 The Third Schedule lists the number of seats provided for a
State that has a Legislative Council
 The Act provides for an electoral college to fill the seats in
Rajya Sabha that are allocated to the UTs. The members are
elected in accordance with the system of proportional
representation by means of the single transferable vote
Officers
The Act provides for:
1. Chief Electoral Officer for each State, nominated by the ECI:
responsible for the preparation, revision, and correction of all
electoral rolls in the State
2. District Election Officer for each district in a State, nominated
by the ECI: responsible for the preparation and revision of the
electoral rolls for all parliamentary, assembly, and council
constituencies within the district
3. Electoral Registration Officer for each constituency,
nominated by the ECI: responsible for the preparation and
revision of the electoral roll for the constituency
Electoral Rolls
  The Act mandates that for every constituency, an electoral roll
should be prepared under the superintendence, direction, and
control of the Election Commission
 Every person who is of 18 years and ordinarily resident in a
constituency is entitled to be registered in the electoral roll
for that constituency
 The Act provides for disqualifications for registration in the
electoral roll if he:
o is not a citizen of India;
o is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a
competent court;
o is for the time being disqualified from voting under the
provisions of any law relating to corrupt practices and
other offences in connection with elections.
 The Act provides for the periodic revision of the electoral roll
and enables any citizen to apply to the electoral registration
officer for the inclusion of his name in the roll
 Envisages a single electoral roll for both assembly and
parliamentary constituencies. The electoral roll for Legislative
Council is treated separately
 Civils courts are barred from adjudicating any disputes arising
out of electoral rolls
Representation of the People Act, 1951
The Act was enacted to provide for:
 the conduct of elections to the Parliament and State
Legislatures
 the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of
Parliament and State Legislatures
 the corrupt practices and other offences regarding elections
 the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of elections
Qualifications
 A candidate is eligible for the membership of Rajya Sabha or
Lok Sabha only if he is an elector for a Parliamentary
constituency in India
 A candidate is eligible for the membership of State Assembly
or Legislative Council only if he is an elector for any Assembly
constituency in that State
Disqualifications
Section 8 lists certain offences which, if a person is convicted of
any of them, disqualifies him from being elected, or continuing as, a
Member of Parliament or Legislative Assembly.
 Section 8(1) lists a number of offences (such as preaching and
practice of “untouchability”), convictions under which
disqualify the candidate irrespective of the quantum of
sentence or fine
 Section 8(2) lists other offences (such as Dowry Prohibition
Act 1961), convictions under which would only result in
disqualification if imprisonment is for 6 months or more
 Section 8(3) is a residuary provision under which if a
candidate is convicted of any offence and imprisoned for 2
years or more, he is disqualified
Disqualification operates from the date of conviction and continues
for a further period of 6 years from the date of release.
 8A. Disqualification on ground of corrupt practices: enables
the President to disqualify a member on the advice of Election
Commission for a period extending to 6 years
 Sec. 123 defines corrupt practices, which include bribery,
undue influence, appealing to voters based on caste, religion,
race etc, and promoting feelings of enmity or hatred between
different classes of citizens
 9. Disqualification for dismissal for corruption or disloyalty:
for 5 years
 9A. Disqualification for Government contracts, etc
 10. Disqualification for office under Government company: if a
member is a managing agent, manager or secretary of any
company, in which government has more than 25% share
 10A. Disqualification for failure to lodge account of election
expenses: ECI would disqualify for 3 years
Conduct of Elections
The Act provides for an elaborate administrative machinery for the
conduct of the elections:
 Allows the ECI to delegate its functions to the Deputy Election
Commissioner or to the Secretary to the Election Commission
 Enables the Chief Electoral Officer of each State to supervise
the conduct of all elections in that State
  Enables the District Election Officer to co-ordinate and
supervise all work in the district, including providing a
sufficient number of polling stations for every constituency
 Enables the ECI to nominate an Observer to watch the
conduct of election or elections in a constituency
 Allows the ECI to nominate a Returning Officer for every
constituency who has the power to do all such acts as may be
necessary for effectually conducting the election
 Provides for the appointment of presiding officers for polling
stations by the District Election Officer. He has the duty to
keep order in the polling station and to see that the poll is
fairly taken
Election Disputes
 An election petition can be tried only in a High Court
 Petition can be brought by any candidate or any elector
(irrespective of whether they voted or not) within 45 days of
the declaration of results
 Petition should contain a concise statement of the material
facts and full particulars of any corrupt practice that the
petitioner alleges
 The trial should be conducted day to day and should be
concluded within 6 months
 At the conclusion of the trials, the HC can:
o Dismiss the election petition; or
o Declare the election of all or any of the returned
candidates to be void; or
o Declare the election of all or any of the returned
candidates to be void and the petitioner or any other
candidate to have been duly elected.
 Section 100 provides for the grounds for declaring election to
be void
 Upon completion, the HC should communicate its decision to
the ECI and the Speaker of the LS/LA
 The Act provides for an appeal against the decision of the HC
to the SC within 30 days
Corrupt Practices and Electoral Offences
 123. Corrupt practices.
 125. Promoting enmity between classes in connection with
election.
 125A. Penalty for filing false affidavit.
  126. Prohibition of public meetings during the 48 hours after
conclusion of polls.
 129. Officers at elections not to act for candidates or to
influence voting.
 131. Penalty for disorderly conduct in or near polling stations.
 134B. Prohibition of going armed to or near a polling station.
 135. Removal of ballot papers from polling station to be an
offence.
 135A. Offence of booth capturing.
 135C. Liquor not to be sold, given or distributed on polling
day.
Election Finance
Governed by the provisions of:
 RPA 1951
 Conduct of Election Rules, 1961
 Income Tax Act, 1961, and
 Companies Act, 2013
Limits on Expenditure –> Yes
 Rs. 70 lakhs for Lok Sabha constituencies and Rs. 28 lakhs for
Assembly constituencies
 Excludes expenditure incurred by “leaders of a political party”
for propagating party’s program
Disclosure of Expenditure –> True copy of account of election
expenses should be lodged with the District Election Commissioner
within 30 days of election.
Limits on Contribution –> None
 No limits on individual/corporate contributions
 No limits on political party accepting contribution
 Ban on foreign contribution to candidate or political party
Disclosure of Contribution –> Yes
 By party: Report to ECI detailing all contributions above Rs.
20,000 (electoral bonds are excluded)
 By company: Profit and Loss account will contain the total
amount contributed to political parties
Public Funding –> Partial
 No direct State subsidy
  Partial in-kind subsidy in the form of free allocated air time on
state owned electronic media
 Free supply of copies of electoral rolls
Penalties –> Both civil and criminal in nature and affect
 Candidate will be disqualified if failed to lodge election
expenses
 Party loses IT exemptions
 Company will be fined and officer responsible will be
imprisoned
Electoral Disqualifications
What is the extent of the problem?
 43% of the current LS members (239 MPs) have criminal
charges against them; the number was 34%, 30%, and 24% in
the last three elections
 Nearly 29% of the cases are related to rape, murder, attempt
to murder, or crime against women
 There is an increase of 109% in the number of MPs with
declared serious criminal cases since 2009
 29 MPs have declared cases related to hate speech
What are the provisions to tackle this menace?
A102 & 191 provide for disqualifications of members of Parliament
and State Legislatures if he:
 holds an office of profit,
 is of unsound mind and so declared by a competent court,
 is an undischarged insolvent,
 is not a citizen of India
They also enable the Parliament to enact such laws as necessary to
add further disqualifications.
Parliament through the RPA 1951 has prescribed further
qualifications and disqualifications for membership to Parliament or
to a Legislative Assembly.
For instance, a candidate to any National or State Assembly
elections is required to furnish an affidavit, in the shape of Form
26, containing information regarding their:
 assets,
 liabilities,
  educational qualifications,
 criminal convictions against them that have not resulted in
disqualification, and
 cases in which criminal charges are framed against them for
any offence punishable with 2 years or more
Failure to furnish this information, concealment of information, or
giving of false information is an offence under Section 125A; which
is punishable up to a period of 6 months.
SC in Lok Prahari (2018)
 Candidates to declare their criminal records in bold
 Political parties have to make the information public on their
websites
 Has to be published in newspapers and TV at least 3 times
after filing nomination papers
What are the problems?
1. Low rates of conviction (only 0.5% of sitting MPs & MLAs
have been convicted, as per ADR)
2. Delays in trials
3. Lack of adequate deterrence (criminal background is seen as
an “advantage”)
4. Enormous amounts of illegal money being pumped into the
electoral process
5. Leading to obstruction of justice (accused are shielded
through political patronage)
What can be the reforms that can be undertaken?
Election Commission can impose a duty on all candidates against
whom charges are pending, to give progress reports in their
criminal cases every 3 months.
Amendment to the CAG (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service)
Act, 1971 so as to allow a deeper investigation of assets and
liabilities of each successful candidate, if not all contesting the
elections to the Parliament and State Legislature by the CAG.
A member should be disqualified not after conviction, but during
the stage of framing of charges, which is based on adequate levels
of judicial scrutiny. The following safeguards must be incorporated
owing to potential for misuse, concern of lack of remedy for the
accused, and the sanctity of criminal jurisprudence:
  Only offences which have a maximum punishment of 5 years
or above have to be included within the remit of this provision
 Charges filed up to 1 year before the date of scrutiny of
nominations for an election will not lead to disqualification
 The disqualification will operate till an acquittal by the trial
court, or for a period of 6 years, whichever is earlier
 For charges framed against sitting MPs/ MLAs, the trials must
be expedited so that they are conducted on a day-to-day basis
and concluded within a 1-year period. If trial not concluded
within a one-year period then one of the following
consequences ought to ensue:
o The MP/ MLA may be disqualified at the expiry of the
one-year period; OR
o The MP/ MLA’s right to vote in the House as a member,
remuneration and other perquisites attaching to their
office shall be suspended at the expiry of the one-year
period.
 Disqualification in the above manner must apply retroactively
as well. Persons with charges pending (punishable by 5 years
or more) on the date of the law coming into effect must be
disqualified from contesting future elections
To tackle large-scale violation of the laws on candidate affidavits
owing to lack of sufficient legal consequences, the following
changes should be made to the RPA:
 Enhanced sentence of a minimum of 2 years on offence of
filing false affidavits
 Conviction under Section 125A as a ground of disqualification
under Section 8(1)
 Include the offence of filing false affidavit as a corrupt
practice under Section 123
Model Code of Conduct (MCC)
What is it?
Set of guidelines issued by ECI to regulate political parties and
candidates to ensure free and fair elections.
Notes
 Issued under Article 324
 Operational from the date of announcement of election
schedule
 Operates till the date of announcement of results
  Traces its origin to the 1960 Kerala state assembly elections
What are the key provisions?
1. General Conduct: Criticism of political parties must be limited
to their policies and programmes, past record and work
2. Meetings: Parties must inform the local police authorities of
the venue and time of any meeting in time to enable the police
to make adequate security arrangements
3. Processions: If two or more candidates plan processions along
the same route, organisers must establish contact in advance
to ensure that the processions do not clash
4. Polling day: All authorised party workers at polling booths
should be given identity badges
5. Polling booths: Only voters, and those with a valid pass from
the Election Commission, will be allowed to enter polling
booths
6. Observers: ECI will appoint observers to whom any
candidates may report problems regarding the conduct of the
election
7. Party in power: Regulates the conduct of the party in power
(to counter incumbency advantages)
8. Election manifestos: Prohibit parties from making promises
that exert an undue influence on voters, and suggest that
manifestos also indicate the means to achieve promises