The Supreme Court in the case Prabhakar Deshpande v. Union of India and Anr observed and refused to entertain plea seeking directions to make it compulsory for politicians to declare their assets after their term of election as well, failing which they may be disqualified to contest any further election.
The bench comprising of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and the justice M.M. Sundresh observed, the counsel appearing before the bench for the petitioner submitted that at the time of filing the politicians, nominations and candidates are required to disclose assets in terms of Rule 4A in Form 26 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961. Further, the counsel argued that the said information cannot be considered to be complete until the declaration of assets are made at the end of their terms as well, so that by looking at the assets before and after the term, the voters can gauge if they have been defrauded in any manner.
The bench observed that the Politicians are to declare assets in Form 26 at the time of nomination and according to the court it is incomplete information until the details are given by them at the end of the term.
It was stated by Justice Kaul that something that is in the domain of the legislature needs to be worked out by it and the Court should not be dragged in and on all occasions.
The court remarked that You want the court to do everything, sometimes let the legislature also do something.
Adding to it, the counsel retorted that the Democracy is in a bad shape, Milords.
It was observed that Justice Kaul was disappointed that the judicial forum has now become a place to settle political scores and he stated that certain measures have been taken by the Election Commission, while refusing to admit the petition.
The Election Commission has done certain things, you are making judicial forums a place for settlement of political issues.
It was alleged by the petition that a large number of politicians are plundering national wealth with impunity and in the absence of any checks and balances. Therefore, it was submitted that controlling the assets of politicians is the only way to curb corruption and noting that the income of politicians is 100 times that of the people of the country, it was argued that the ‘acid test of democracy’, India is failing in it.
Further, it was indicated in the plea that the average assets of MPs of Lok Sabha during the term 2014-2019 stood at Rs. 16 crores, as per declarations made, which is 1600 times the average income of the citizens, while considering this disparity, the petitioner seeking direction to frame guidelines or rules that the people’s representative assets must have some coherence and some synchronization with the average assets of the citizens.
