As Rajya Sabha on Tuesday approved a bill to maintain the right of those in jail to contest poll, law minister Kapil Sibal said the courts are ‘enthusiastic’ to prove politicians as criminals and asked them to be extremely careful while delivering judgements which have an impact on the polity of the country.
‘There is a general negative perception in the country that all politicians are criminals. Courts are enthusiastic to prove us so, even if we are not so,’ said Sibal while moving the Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013.
While moving the motion, the minister said the verdict of a court to bar persons in jail from contesting elections was ‘clearly erroneous’ as the matters or right to vote and right to be on electoral roll were being dealt by separate sections in the Constitution and till proven guilty, everyone was to be taken as innocent. ‘We are fallible, we commit mistakes and the judges can also commit mistakes, the judiciary should be extremely careful while giving judgements which can affect the polity of the country,’ said Sibal.
Noting that the ‘delicate balance’ between the various institutions of the Constitution has been disturbed, Sibal said there was an environment of ‘mistrust’ in which the political class was dubbed as criminal. ‘The nation has suffered because of this and the delicate balance has been disturbed. We are partly to be blamed and others too might have failed. When we do not perform, the other organ steps in,’ said the law minister.
Sibal said if other organs of the system were keen to reform, ‘then so are we. We have failed to perform our duty. If there is some fault in some institution, it needs to correct itself.’
‘There is a general negative perception in the country that all politicians are criminals. Courts are enthusiastic to prove us so, even if we are not so,’ said Sibal while moving the Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013.
While moving the motion, the minister said the verdict of a court to bar persons in jail from contesting elections was ‘clearly erroneous’ as the matters or right to vote and right to be on electoral roll were being dealt by separate sections in the Constitution and till proven guilty, everyone was to be taken as innocent. ‘We are fallible, we commit mistakes and the judges can also commit mistakes, the judiciary should be extremely careful while giving judgements which can affect the polity of the country,’ said Sibal.
Noting that the ‘delicate balance’ between the various institutions of the Constitution has been disturbed, Sibal said there was an environment of ‘mistrust’ in which the political class was dubbed as criminal. ‘The nation has suffered because of this and the delicate balance has been disturbed. We are partly to be blamed and others too might have failed. When we do not perform, the other organ steps in,’ said the law minister.
Sibal said if other organs of the system were keen to reform, ‘then so are we. We have failed to perform our duty. If there is some fault in some institution, it needs to correct itself.’