A petition in the Supreme Court urges the Election Commission to regulate political parties, citing “bogus” outfits appointing criminals and misusing donations. The plea demands transparency, accountability, and stricter laws.
New Delhi: On August 31, a new petition was filed in the Supreme Court asking for strong rules to control and regulate political parties in India. The petition seeks directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to frame guidelines for the registration and regulation of political parties so that principles of secularism, transparency, and political justice can be promoted.
The plea, moved by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, alleged that many “bogus political parties” are damaging the democratic system of the country.
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It claimed these parties are not only harming India’s democratic values but are also
“maligning the country by appointing hardcore criminals, kidnappers, drug smugglers and money launderers as national and state office bearers after taking huge amounts of money from them.”
The petitioner said that the present legal system lacks proper checks on how political parties are formed and managed.
The plea stated,
“There are no rules and regulations for political parties. Therefore, many separatists have formed their political party to collect donations. Some office bearers of these parties have succeeded in getting police protection also,”
The petition also referred to a recent media report highlighting the misuse of the political party framework for illegal activities.
It claimed that the Income Tax Department discovered a “fake” political party that was “converting black money into white by deducting 20 per cent commission.”
Advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, filing on behalf of Upadhyay, stressed the importance of accountability in the functioning of political parties.
The plea pointed out:
“Transparency and accountability in the working of political parties are essential in public interest as they perform public function and, therefore, ECI must frame rules and regulations for them.”
The petition further argued that the Supreme Court has already introduced several reforms in the past to clean public life and bring greater fairness in governance.
It added,
”The move to regulate political parties within the ambit of the Constitution would pave the way for robust democratic functioning.”
In case the Election Commission is unable to bring such reforms on its own, the plea also asked the Court to direct the Law Commission of India to study best international practices from developed democracies and prepare a report on the registration and regulation of political parties in India.
According to the petitioner, such reforms are necessary to reduce corruption, black money, and the criminalisation of politics.
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