The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a plea urging the Election Commission of India (ECI) to frame rules for the registration and regulation of political parties in order to promote transparency, secularism, and political justice.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the Union government, the ECI, and the Law Commission of India on a petition filed by advocate and petitioner-in-person Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.
While issuing notice, Justice Kant noted that no political party had been made a respondent in the case. “They will say that you’re asking something to regulate them and they were not here,” the bench remarked, directing Upadhyay to implead all national parties registered with the poll panel.
The petition alleged that several “bogus political parties” posed a grave threat to democracy, appointing “hardcore criminals, kidnappers, drug smugglers and money launderers” as office bearers in exchange for money. It further claimed that in the absence of a clear regulatory framework, separatist elements had formed political outfits to collect donations, with some even managing to secure police protection.
The plea referred to a recent media report suggesting that a “fake political party” had been found by the Income Tax Department to be converting black money into white by charging a 20 per cent commission.
Stressing that transparency and accountability in the functioning of political parties is essential in the public interest, the plea urged the top court to direct the ECI to frame rules and regulations to govern them.
Alternatively, it sought a direction to the Law Commission of India to study best practices from developed democracies and prepare a comprehensive report on party registration and regulation to curb corruption and criminalisation in politics.
“The move to regulate political parties within the ambit of the Constitution would pave the way for robust democratic functioning,” the petition submitted through lawyer Ashwani Kumar Dubey stated, highlighting that the Supreme Court had already initiated several reforms to promote transparency and probity in public life.
The matter will now be taken up further following responses from the Centre, the ECI, and the Law Commission.
