Candidates need to declare criminal antecedents before contesting an election: SC

The Supreme Court Tuesday held that each candidate shall declare his/her criminal antecedents to the election commission before contesting an election.

A 5-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said that citizens have a right to be informed about the antecedents of their candidates.

The verdict was unanimously passed.

The verdict was pronounced on a batch of pleas raising a question whether lawmakers facing criminal trial can be disqualified from contesting elections at the stage of framing of charges against them.

The status before the filing of these petitions was that lawmakers were barred under the Representation of Peoples (RP) Act from contesting elections only after their conviction in a criminal case.

The verdict was reserved on August 28.