CONTESTING TWO SEATS - POLITY
News: No
bar on contesting two seats in one poll
What's in the news?
● The
Supreme Court refused to set aside a provision in the election law which allows
candidates to contest polls from two constituencies simultaneously.
Key takeaways:
● “This
is a policy matter and an issue concerning political
democracy. It is for the Parliament to take a call,” a Bench led by Chief
Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud observed.
Legal provisions to contest two seats:
● Section 33(7) of the
Representation of People Act,1951 allows a person
to contest a general election or a group of by-elections or biennial elections
from two constituencies.
● In
1996, the Representation of the
People Act 1951 was amended to restrict a person from contesting polls from
more than two seats.
○ Before
the amendment, candidates could contest from any number of constituencies.
Election Commission Observations:
● The
commission mentioned that when a candidate contests from two seats, it is sure
that he has to vacate one of the two seats should he win both.
● This
results in an unavoidable financial
burden on the public exchequer and the manpower and other resources for
holding a by-election against the
resultant vacancy, and it would be an injustice to the voters of the
constituency which the candidate is quitting from.
● The
poll body suggested that the “law should
be amended to provide that a person cannot contest from more than one
constituency at a time”.
● It
also suggested that a candidate should deposit
an amount of ₹5 lakh for contesting in two constituencies in an Assembly
election or ₹10 lakh in a general election.
○ The
amount would be used to cover the expenses for a by-election in the eventuality
that he or she was victorious in both constituencies and had to relinquish one.
● The
Law Commission of India has also supported the proposal of restricting
candidates from more than one seat.
Double Membership (RPA, 1951):
A
person cannot be a member of both Houses of Parliament at the same time. Thus,
the Representation of People Act (1951) provides for the following:
● If
a person is elected to both Houses of
Parliament, he must intimate within 10 days in which House he desires to
serve. In default of such intimation, his seat in the Rajya Sabha becomes
vacant.
● If
a sitting member of one House is also
elected to the other House, his seat in the first House becomes vacant.
● If
a person is elected to two seats in a
House, he should exercise his option for one. Otherwise, both seats become
vacant.
● A
person cannot be a member of both the
Parliament and the state legislature at the same time. If a person is so
elected, his seat in Parliament becomes vacant if he does not resign his seat
in the state legislature within 14 days.
Go back to basics:
Representation of the People Act, 1951:
● The
Representation of the People Act, 1951 has provisions for the
○ Conduct
of election of the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the
Legislature of each State.
○ The
qualifications and disqualifications
for membership of those Houses.
○ The
corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such elections.
○ The
decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with such
elections.