The Supreme Court on Friday said candidates contesting elections must declare not just their own sources of income, but also that of their spouses and children, LiveLaw reported. A bench of Justice Jasti Chelameswar and Justice S Abdul Nazeer passed the order on a Public Interest Litigation filed by NGO Lok Prahari.

This is in addition to disclosing details of the assets and liabilities in their name as well as that of their spouse and three dependants while filing nominations for elections.

Lok Prahri had asked the court if the Representation of the People Act can be amended to make it mandatory for candidates to disclose their sources of income and that of their family members, and to disqualify lawmakers if they or a member of their families hold shares in firms that have business contracts with the government.

Advertisement

In response to this plea, the Election Commission in January had filed an affidavit, which also sought amendment to the Representation of the People Act to effect these changes. The poll panel said it was necessary for a “healthier democracy” that voters get to know the sources of income of aspiring candidates and family members.

The bench also said on Friday that an undue increase in assets of legislators and their associates “is certainly a matter which should alarm citizens and voters in a truly democratic society”. It said that such accretion would lead to destruction of democracy and pave way for the “mafia”.

The court chastised both Parliament and the Election Commission of India for not paying attention to the disproportionate increase in lawmakers’ wealth. It asked the Centre to create a permanent institutional mechanism to collect data on the financial status of legislators, and associates and examine it for undue increase in wealth.

The top court added that the legislature should make a provision in the law that undue accretion of assets would be grounds for disqualification of a lawmaker even without prosecution.