Supreme Court Recalls Order Holding BJP Guilty Of Contempt Of Court Over Not Disclosing Criminal Antecedents Of Candidates
The Supreme Court on Monday reviewed a 2021 order which found the Bharatiya Janata Party guilty of contempt of court for flouting the top court’s directions regarding public disclosure of criminal antecedents of electoral candidates during the Bihar assembly polls in 2020.Allowing a review petition filed by B.L. Santosh, the general secretary of the political party, a special bench...
The Supreme Court on Monday reviewed a 2021 order which found the Bharatiya Janata Party guilty of contempt of court for flouting the top court’s directions regarding public disclosure of criminal antecedents of electoral candidates during the Bihar assembly polls in 2020.
Allowing a review petition filed by B.L. Santosh, the general secretary of the political party, a special bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and B.R. Gavai, recalled the fine of Rs 1 lakh on the Bharatiya Janata Party for contempt of court. The bench noted that there was no wilful or deliberate disobedience of the court order.
Under review was a portion of the order passed by the top court in which BJP was held to be in contempt of the court’s directions with respect to publishing details of criminal antecedents of candidates. In February 2020, in order to prevent the alarming rise of criminalisation in politics, the Supreme Court had directed all political parties to widely publicize the details of criminal cases pending against their candidates in the Lok Sabha as well as state legislatures within 48 hours of selection of the candidate or within two weeks of nomination, whichever is earlier. This information, the court had said, would have to indicate the nature of the crime the candidate is alleged to have committed, and the stage of the investigation or trial. Furthermore, the information would have to be published in local newspapers, and uploaded to official websites and social media handles of the political parties.
In August 2021, a bench headed by Justice R.F. Nariman found eight political parties to have violated the court’s directions and imposed hefty penalties on them for committing contempt of court. While a penalty of Rs 5 lakh was imposed on the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Nationalist Congress Party each, Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress, Janta Dal, Rashtriya Janata Dal (United), Communist Party of India, and Lok Janshakti Party had to pay Rs 1 lakh each.
Last year, in November, a division bench of the Supreme Court agreed to hear, in open court, BJP’s petition seeking a review of its order to the extent that it penalised the political party for non-compliance with its earlier directions. Finally, on Monday, the bench decided to exonerate BJP of the charges of contempt. “Their conduct, for it to amount to contempt, had to be deliberate and wilful. However, we cannot arrive at that finding. It is also not about penalising but the stigma that is attached to this process,” explained Justice Gavai.
Case Title
B.L. Santosh v. Brijesh Singh and others | Review Petition (Civil) No. 1151 of 2021