The Indian Liberal Group congratulates and compliments the Election Commission of India for initiating the implementation of the Supreme Court order of May 2, 2002, which will be a very significant step in reducing the criminalisation of politics. The candidates seeking election to Parliament or State Assembly will now have to submit, along with their nomination form, an affidavit in a prescribed proforma, indicating the following :

1. Whether the candidate has been convicted/acquitted/ discharged of any criminal offence in the past - if any, and whether he was punished with imprisonment or fine ?
2. Prior to six months of filing of nomination, whether the candidate was accused in any pending case, of any offence punishable with imprisonment of two years or more, and on which charge he/she was framed and whether cognizance was taken by the court of law. If so, the details thereof.
3. The assets (immovable, movable, bank balances etc.,) of a candidate and of his/her spouse and that of dependants.
   
4. Liabilities, if any, particularly whether there are any over dues of any public financial institution or government dues.
   
5. The educational qualifications of the candidate.

Not filing the affidavit or giving false information in the affidavit will make the nomination liable to rejection during scrutiny.

The Supreme Court passed the above order in a Special Leave Petition filed by the Union of India against a judgement of the Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Court had given its judgment in response to a Public Interest Litigation filed by the Association of Democratic Reforms requesting that candidates contesting the elections be required to furnish information about criminal cases pending against them, and that this information be made available to voters to enable them to make an informed choice while casting their votes. The Delhi High Court passed its judgment on November 2, 2002, which was appealed against by the Government of India. The Government of India’s appeal was supported by the several political parties in the Supreme Court.

Electoral reforms, particularly decriminalisation of politics, are an integral and a very important part of the agenda of the Indian Liberal Group. While recognising and appreciating the initiative taken by the Election Commission of India, the Indian Liberal Group also congratulates the Association for Democratic Reforms for taking this initiative and working for it over time to bring it to this stage. The Indian Liberal Group will continue to support such initiatives and will actively work to ensure that the entire electoral system is reformed and is continually improved, thus leading to better governance of the country.