Notice to EC on plea to verify nominees’ antecedents

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar issued notice to counsels Niranjan Rajagopal, Nedunchezian and TN Rajagopal, who appeared for EC, TNSEC and the state respectively. 

The petitioner S Parthiban of Saidapet in his PIL submitted that the Representation of Peoples Act mandates that every candidate who files nomination to contest the polls should furnish all personal details, including the criminal cases booked and pending against them. Even the Election Commission, in a bid to weed out such persons from contesting elections, has directed all those who file their nominations to furnish such details. 

But despite this, the candidates suppress such information, he said and cited a few instances where candidates with criminal cases pending against them had contested the previous elections and even emerged victorious. 

Noting that the Election Commission’s refrain revolved around lack of time to verify the correctness of the declarations made by the contestants in the nomination forms, the plea sought to provide the Election Commission at least three months’ time to enable it to check the veracity of the candidates’ antecedents before accepting their nominations.