Govt no to EC proposal on dues clearance for contesting polls

New Delhi, October 8 : The government has rejected an Election Commission proposal to bar candidates, who have failed to clear dues such as government house rent, electricity and power bills, from contesting elections.
The poll watchdog had written to the law ministry urging it to amend election laws to include failure to clear dues of public utilities as a disqualification from contesting Lok Sabha and assembly polls.
According to the EC, barring candidates will require amendment to the chapter-III of the Representation of the People Act which deals with electoral offences. A new clause will have to be inserted therein for disqualification “on the ground of being a defaulter of public dues”. But in its brief response sent to the EC in May, the law ministry said the proposal is “not desirable”, a senior functionary said.
The law ministry feels that the ban would not be desirable as the authority issuing the no-dues certificate or the no-objection certificate to a candidate could be biased and may not give the required papers, the functionary said. The ministry also felt that in cases of dispute on the dues, the matter could be referred to a court and may take time to settle. In such cases, it would not be desirable to deny the candidate with the no dues certificate. The poll panel’s move seeking change in election law is the outcome of a July 2015 Delhi High Court order which had asked the EC to “also consider the possibility, if any, of putting any impediment to a defaulter of public dues contesting election, to ensure quick recovery of the said dues”.