Professional Documents
Culture Documents
RP Act
RP Act
in
the allocation of seats in, and the delimitation of constituencies for the purpose of election to the House
of the People and the Legislatures of States;
b)
c)
d)
e)
Methodology for the conduct of elections of the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of
the Legislature of each State;
b)
c)
the corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such elections and;
d)
the decision on doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with elections.
All the seats in the House of the People allotted to the States shall be seats to be filled by persons chosen
by direct election from parliamentary constituencies in the States.
Every State to which only one seat is allotted shall form one parliamentary constituency.
Notes
The electoral roll for every parliamentary constituency, other than a parliamentary constituency in the State of
Jammu and Kashmir or in a Union Territory not having a Legislative Assembly, shall consist of the electoral
rolls for all the assembly constituencies comprised within that parliamentary constituency; and it shall not be
necessary to prepare or revise separately the electoral roll for any such parliamentary constituency.
www.iasscore.in
Notes
Further no person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for more than one constituency and no
person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for any constituency more than once.
www.iasscore.in
The other criteria is that he should be the ordinarily resident in a constituency, a person shall not be deemed
to be ordinarily resident in a constituency on the ground only that he owns, or is in possession of, a dwelling
house therein. Sub criterias are:
(1A) A person absenting himself temporarily from his place of ordinary residence shall not by reason thereof
cease to be ordinarily resident therein.
(1B) A member of Parliament or of the Legislature of a State shall not during the term of his office cease to
be ordinarily resident in the constituency in the electoral roll of which he is registered as an elector at the
time of his election as such member, by reason of his absence from that constituency in connection with
his duties as such member.
(2) A person who is a patient in any establishment maintained wholly or mainly for the reception and
treatment of persons suffering from mental illness or mental defectiveness, or who is detained in prison
or other legal custody at any place, shall not by reason thereof be deemed to be ordinarily resident therein.
(3) Any person having a service qualification shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident on any date in the
constituency in which, but for his having such service qualification, he would have been ordinarily resident
on that date.
No civil court shall have jurisdiction to entertain or adjudicate upon any question whether any person is or is
not entitled to be registered in an electoral roll for a constituency; or to question the legality of any action taken
by or under the authority of an electoral registration officer, or of any decision given by any authority
appointed under this Act for the revision of any such roll.
Criteria for the Disqualifications for Registration in an Electoral Roll are
A person shall be disqualified for registration in an electoral roll if he(a) Is not a citizen of India; or
(b) Is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; or
(c) Is for the time being disqualified from voting under the provisions of this relating to corrupt practices
and other offences in connection with election.
The name of any person who becomes so disqualified after registration shall forthwith be struck off the
electoral roll in which it is included:
No person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for more than one constituency.
No person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for more than once.
Notes
www.iasscore.in
(i)
Before each by election to the House of People or to the Legislative Assembly of a State; and
(ii) Before each by election to fill in casual vacancy in a seat allotted to the constituency; and
Shall be revised in any year in the prescribed manner by reference to the qualifying
revision has been directed by Election Commission.
date
if such
The inclusion or exclusion of any entry in or from an electoral roll, a statement or declaration in writing
which is false and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, he shall
be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.
For each State a chief electoral officer is appointed who shall be such officer of Government as the Election
Commission may, in consultation with that government, designate or nominate in this behalf. The Chief
Electoral Officer of a State/Union Territory is authorised to supervise the election work in the State/Union
Territory subject to the overall superintendence, direction and control of the Election Commission. The chief
electoral officer of each State shall also supervise the conduct of all elections in the State.
2.
Notes
For each district in a State the Election Commission shall, in consultation with the Government of the State,
designate or nominate a district election officer who shall be an officer of Government: The Election Commission
may designate or nominate more than one such officer for a district if the Election Commission is satisfied
that the functions of the office cannot be performed satisfactorily by one officer. The District Election Officer
shall coordinate and supervise all work in the district or in the area within his jurisdiction in connection with
the conduct of all elections to Parliament and the Legislature of the State.
www.iasscore.in
3.
The electoral roll for each parliamentary constituency in the State of Jammu and Kashmir or in a Union
territory not having a Legislative Assembly, each assembly constituency and each Council constituency shall
be prepared and revised by an electoral registration officer who shall be such officer of Government or of a
local authority as the Election Commission may, in consultation with the Government of the State in which
the constituency is situated, designate or nominate in this behalf. An electoral registration officer may, subject
to any prescribed restrictions, employ such persons as he thinks fit for the preparation and revision of the
electoral roll for the constituency.
4.
The Election Commission may appoint one or more persons as assistant electoral registration officers to assist
any electoral registration officer in the performance of his functions. Every assistant electoral registration
officer shall, subject to the control of the electoral registration officer, be competent to perform all or any of
the functions of the electoral registration officer.
Breach of official duty in connection with the preparation, etc., of electoral rolls:
If any electoral registration officer, assistant electoral registration officer or other person required by or
under this Act to perform any official duty in connection with the preparation, revision or correction of
an electoral roll or the inclusion or exclusion of any entry in or from that roll, is without reasonable cause,
guilty of any act or omission in breach of such official duty, he shall be punishable with imprisonment
for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to two years and with fine.
No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against any such officer or other person for damages in respect
of any such act or omission as aforesaid.
No Court shall take cognizance of any such offence publishable unless there is a complaint made by order
of, or under authority from, the Election Commission or the chief electoral officer of the State concerned.
To entertain or adjudicate upon any question whether any person is or is not entitled to be registered in
an electoral roll for a constituency; or
To question the legality of any action taken by or under the authority of all electoral registration officers,
or of any decision given by any authority, appointed under this Act for the revision of any such roll.
Notes
www.iasscore.in
The president decides in consultation with the Election Commission whose advice is final.
Notes
www.iasscore.in
A person who having held an office under the Government of India or under the Government of any State
has been dismissed for corruption or for disloyalty to the State shall be disqualified for a period of five
years from the date of such dismissal.
For failure to lodge account of election expenses, the EC can disqualify the person which will be for a
period of three years.
The EC is the authority that can reduce the period of disqualification, except under Section 8A.
Notes
Political parties are an established part of modern mass democracy, and the conduct of elections in India is
largely dependent on the behaviour of political parties. Although many candidates for Indian elections are
independent, the winning candidates for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections usually stand as members of
political parties, and opinion polls suggest that people tend to vote for a party rather than a particular candidate.
Parties offer candidates organisational support, and by offering a broader election campaign, looking at the
record of government and putting forward alternative proposals for government, help voters make a choice
about how the government is run.
www.iasscore.in
Any association or body of individual citizens of India calling itself a political party and intending to avail itself
of the provisions of political party shall make an application to the Election Commission for its registration
as a political party for the purposes of this Act. It will have 30 days from its formation to file such an
application.
To be a National Party the party should fulfill one of the three requirements
1.
Secures six per cent of valid votes polled in any four or more states at a general election to the Lok Sabha
and or to the legislative assembly; and, in addition, it wins four seats in the Lok Sabha from any state;
2.
Wins two per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha at a general election; and these candidates are elected from
three states;
3.
Secures eight per cent of the valid votes in the state at a general election to the legislative assembly of
the state concerned and in addition it wins 2 seats in the assembly of the state concerned;
2.
Secures eight per cent of the valid votes polled in the state at a general election to the Lok Sabha and
in addition wins one seat in Lok Sabha from the state concerned;
3.
Wins three per cent of the seats in the legislative assembly or three seats in the assembly whichever is
more;
4.
Wins 1 seat in the Lok Sabha for every 25 seats in the Lok Sabha or any fraction thereof allotted to the
state at a general election to the Lok Sabha concerned.
Subject to the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 every political party may accept any amount of
contribution voluntarily offered to it by any person or company other than a Government company. Further
no political party shall be eligible to accept any contribution from any foreign source.
The treasurer of a political party or any other person authorised by the political party in this behalf shall, in
each financial year, prepare a report in respect of the following, namely:
(a) the contribution in excess of twenty thousand rupees received by such political party from any person in
that financial year;
(b) the contribution in excess of twenty thousand rupees received by such political party from companies
other than Government companies in that financial year.
Where the treasurer of any political party or any other person authorised by the political party in this behalf
fails to submit a report under sub-section (3) then, notwithstanding anything contained in the Income-tax Act,
1961 (43 of 1961), such political party shall not be entitled to any tax relief under that Act.
Nomination of Candidates
The last date for making nominations, which shall be the seventh day after the date of publication of the
first-mentioned notification or, if that day is a public holiday, the next succeeding day which is not a public
holiday.
Notes
www.iasscore.in
The date for the scrutiny of nominations, which shall be the day immediately following the last date
for making nominations or, if that day is a public holiday, the next succeeding day which is not a public
holiday.
The last date for the withdrawal of candidatures, which shall be the second day after the date for the
scrutiny of nominations.
The date of poll will be more than 14 days after the last day of withdrawal of nomination.
Valid nomination of a candidate of a registered political party needs at least one proposer who is an elector
from the same constituency. For a candidate who does not belong to any political party, there has to be
at least 10 proposers from the same constituency .
In the case of local authorities constituency, graduates constituency or teachers constituency, there must
be at least 10 % of the electors of the constituency or ten such electors, whichever is less as proposers.
The candidate will have to furnish information regarding the cases in which he is accused for which the
punishment is 2 years or more and/or cases in which s/he has been convicted for more than one year apart
from the offences under which s/he can be disqualified under this act. The Returning Officer has to put
up this information in a conspicuous place for general public.
Scrutiny of Nominations
On the date fixed for the scrutiny of nominations under section 30, the candidates, their election agents, one
proposer of each candidate, and one other person duly authorized in writing by each candidate, but no other
person, may attend at such time and place as the returning officer may appoint; and the returning officer shall
give them all reasonable facilities for examining the nomination papers of all candidates.
The returning officer shall then examine the nomination papers and shall decide all objections which may be
made to any nomination and may, either on such objection or on his own motion, after such summary inquiry,
if any, as he thinks necessary, reject any nomination with reason mentioned. The Candidate may be allowed
to rebut any objection till the next day only.
The returning officer shall prepare and publish in such form and manner as may be prescribed a list of
contesting candidates, categorized under candidates belonging to recognized political parties, candidates belonging
to registered parties and other candidates.
The EC will provide for equitable distribution of time on cable TV network and radio to the recognized political
parties based on their past performance.
Declaration of Assets
Every elected candidate for a House of Parliament shall, within ninety days from the date on which he makes
and subscribes an oath or affirmation, according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule to
the Constitution, for taking his seat in either House of Parliament, furnish the information to the Chairman
of the Council of States or the Speaker of the House of the People, as the case may be, relating to
(i)
The movable and immovable property of which he, his spouse and his dependant children are jointly or
severally owners or beneficiaries;
Notes
www.iasscore.in
(iii) His liabilities to the Central Government or the State Government, any contravention of the above will
be treated as breach of privilege of the House.
If the person is already a member of one House of Parliament, his/her seat in that house will fall vacant
the moment s/he is elected to other House.
Notes
10
www.iasscore.in
In case of Election to more than one seat in a House, the person shall need to resign from all but one seat
by writing to the Chairman/Speaker otherwise all seats shall fall vacant.
The EC publishes in the official Gazette the names of the persons who are successfully elected in the
election.
Election Expenses
The people who contest the elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assembly of a State
are required to maintain such accounts.
Every candidate at an election shall, either by himself or by his election agent, keep a separate and correct
account of all expenditure in connection with the election incurred or authorized by him or by his election
agent between the date on which he has been nominated and the date of declaration of the result thereof,
both dates inclusive.
Notes
Returning Officer for each Constituency: For each constituency/ seat (council of states) there shall be a
Returning Officer appointed by the EC. The person shall be an officer of government or local body.
11
www.iasscore.in
Election Commission can designate or nominate the same person to be the Returning Officer for more than
one constituency.
Assistant Returning Officers: The Election Commission may appoint one or more persons to assist any
Returning Officer in the performance of his functions, Provided that every such person shall be an officer of
Government.
Every Assistant Returning Officer shall, subject to the control of the Returning Officer, be competent to
perform all or any of the functions of the Returning Officer.
District Election Officer: The Chief Electoral Officer shall, with the previous approval of the Election
Commission, provide a sufficient number of polling stations for every constituency the whole or greater part
of which lies within his jurisdiction, and shall publish, in such manner as the Election Commission may direct,
a list showing the polling stations so provided and the polling areas or groups of voters for which they have
respectively been provided.
Presiding Officers: The Chief Electoral Officer shall appoint a Presiding Officer for each polling station and
such Polling Officer or officers as he thinks necessary, but he shall not appoint any person who has been
employed by or on behalf of, or has been otherwise working for, a candidate in or about the election.
A Polling Officer shall, if so directed by the Presiding Officer, perform all or any of the functions of a presiding
officer under this Act or any rules or orders made there under.
In case of elections to council of states or legislative council, the returning officer will also be the presiding
officer.
The election can be declared null and void in case of the elected candidate not being qualified or being
disqualified, or any other candidates nomination being improperly rejected, or corrupt practices by any
other candidate/agent which materially affects the result, improper rejection/acceptance of vote or by
non- compliance with the provisions of the constitution or of this Act. However, if elected candidate
and/or his agent did not indulge in any corrupt practices and tried their level best to stop them, then his
election will not be void.
A copy of the decision will be sent by the court to the EC, and speaker/chairman of the House concerned.
The acts of the candidate, whose election is declared void, before such decision of the court, shall still
be valid. Death of the sole petitioner or the sole respondent may lead to abatement of the trial.
An appeal against the High Court order has to be made in the Supreme Court within 30 days
of the High Courts judgment.
Notes
12
www.iasscore.in
Notes
On July 10, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that a person, who is in jail or in police custody, cannot contest
elections to legislative bodies. The RPA, 1951 states that any contestant to an election to legislative bodies has
to be an elector, i.e., his name should be on the electoral roll and he is not subject to any of the disqualifications
13
www.iasscore.in
mentioned in Section 16 of the Representation of People Act, 1950. Among other things, that section disqualifies
anyone from being on the electoral roll if he is disqualified from voting under the provisions of any law relating
to corrupt practices and other offences in relation to elections. Another provision in the RPA, 1951 says that
anyone in prison or on the lawful custody of the police (other than preventive detention) is not entitled to vote.
The Supreme Court concluded that a person in jail or police custody is not entitled to vote, and therefore, is
not an elector, and thus, cannot contest elections.
Law Commission Report on Electoral Disqualifications
The report examined issues related to: (i) disqualification of candidates with criminal background, and (ii)
consequences of filing false affidavits. Key recommendations include:
The Commission examined the different stages at which disqualification may be triggered, and decided upon
the stage of framing of charges.
(i)
Conviction: The current practice of disqualification upon conviction has been unable to curb the
criminalisation of politics, owing to long delays in trials and rare convictions. The law must evolve to act
as an effective deterrent.
(ii) Filing of police report: At the stage of the filing of the police report, there is no application of judicial
mind. Thus, this would not be the appropriate stage at which disqualification may be effected.
(iii) Framing of charges: The stage of framing of charges is based on adequate levels of judicial scrutiny. By
effecting disqualification at this stage, with adequate safeguards, the spread of criminalisation of politics
may be curbed.
Certain safeguards must be included to prevent misuse of this provision and to address the concern of lack
of remedy for the accused. These include:
(i)
Only offences that attract a maximum punishment of five years or above should be included within the
ambit of this provision.
(ii) Charges filed within one year before the date of scrutiny of nominations for an election will not lead to
disqualification.
(iii) The disqualification will operate until acquittal by a trial court, or a period of six years, whichever is earlier.
(iv) For charges framed against sitting MPs or MLAs, the trial must be expedited. It must be conducted on
a day to day basis, and completed within one year.
(v) If the trial is not concluded within a one year period then the MP/MLA may be disqualified at the expiry
of that period. Alternatively, the MP/MLAs right to vote in the House as a member, remuneration and
other perquisites attached to his/her office should be suspended at the end of one year.
Notes
(vi) Disqualification at the stage of framing of charges must apply retroactively as well. Persons with charges
pending (punishable by five years or more) at the time of this law coming into effect must be disqualified
from contesting future elections. The safeguards for charges filed within one year of the date of scrutiny
of nomination papers would apply.
14
www.iasscore.in
On the issue of filing of a false affidavit, the Representation of the People Act, 1951 must be amended to
reflect the following:
(i)
Conviction on the charge of filing of a false affidavit must be grounds for disqualification.
(ii)
Punishment to be enhanced, from a maximum of six months imprisonment, to a minimum of two years
imprisonment.
Notes
(iii) Filing of a false affidavit should qualify as a corrupt practice under the Act. Consequently, trials of cases
in relation to false affidavits must also be conducted on a day to day basis. Further, a gap of one week
should be introduced between the last date for filing nominations and the date of scrutiny. This would give
adequate time to file an objection on nomination papers.
15