Candidates have a right to privacy from voters, rules SC

CategoryPolity

Last Updated11/04/2024

The Supreme Court recently, held that an election candidate has a right to privacy from voters
It held that there is no need to lay out every scrap of his or her personal life and possessions, past and present, for the electorate to examine with a magnifying glass.

a candidate’s choice to retain his privacy on matters which were of no concern to the voters or were irrelevant to his candidature for public office did not amount to a ‘corrupt practice’ under Section 123 of the Representation of People Act, 1951.
Such non-disclosure would not amount to a “defect of a substantial nature” under Section 36(4) of the 1951 Act.
“It is not necessary that a candidate declare every item of movable property that he or his dependent family members own
unless these items are of such value as to constitute a sizeable asset in itself or reflect upon his candidature, in terms of his lifestyle, and require to be disclosed
The court said voters have a right to the disclosure of information which was essential for choosing the candidate for whom a vote should be cast.

It defines ‘corrupt practices’ to include bribery, undue influence, false information, and promotion or attempted promotion of “feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of the citizens of India
- on grounds of religion, race, caste, community, or language” by a candidate for the furtherance of his prospects in the election.
Section 123 (2) deals with ‘undue influence’ which it defines as “any direct or indirect interference or attempt to interfere on the part of the candidate or his agent, or of any other person
- with the consent of the candidate or his election agent, with the free exercise of any electoral right.”
This could also include threats of injury, social ostracism and expulsion from any caste or community.
Section 123 (4) extends the ambit of “corrupt practices” to the intentional publication of false statements which can prejudice the outcome of the candidate’s election.