Economic Times ( 17 Feb )
carries following news :
The
Supreme Court on Friday expressed alarm over the undue accretion of assets of law-makers, a sure sign that
they were misusing their offices, and made it obligatory
for candidates to reveal the source of their incomes and that of their spouses
and dependent children, apart from their share or interest if any in government
contracts.
This, the court said, would go a long way in letting the electorate make an informed choice of the candidate. “In our opinion, such information would certainly be relevant and necessary for a voter to make an appropriate choice at the time of the election whether to vote or not in favour of a particular candidate.”
However,
the bench baulked at the prospect of setting up a permanent mechanism to keep tabs on and
probe the assets of law-makers and their immediate families, saying it may end
up in a “political witch-hunt”.
Unfortunately, in our country, neither the
Parliament nor the Election Commission of India paid any attention to the
problem so far,” the bench said.
The
judges attributed the sharp spike in non-performing assets and other such
financial ills ailing the Indian state to such misuse of office by legislators
to humour their own in bagging major government contracts.
Such
undue accretion of
assets was certainly a matter
which should alarm the citizens and voters of any truly democratic society, it
said, as it was a sure indicator of the beginning of a failing democracy.
“If
left unattended, it would inevitably lead to the destruction of democracy and pave the way for
the rule of mafia.” “Democracies with higher levels of energy have already
taken note of the problem and addressed it.
Unfortunately,
in our country, neither the Parliament nor the Election Commission of India
paid any attention to the problem so far,” the bench said.
Legislators,
the court said, are deputed by the people to get grievances redressed. “But
they become the grievance.” The bench said that there was no reason why the
election rules should not be changed by the government to make such undue accumulation of assets
an electoral
disqualification, besides a criminal offence.
“If
assets of a legislator and his / her associates ( wife, dependent children )
increase without bearing any relationship to their known sources of income, the only logical
inference that
can be drawn is that there is some abuse of the constitutional office,” the court said.
The court said that the citizen, the ultimate
repository of sovereignty in a democracy, must have access to all information
that enables critical audit of the performance of the state, its
instrumentalities and their incumbent or aspiring public officials.
Dear Hon Supreme Court :
There is no need for “ setting up a permanent mechanism to keep tabs on and
probe the assets of law-makers and their immediate families “
All
that is required is to add one more field in the Income Tax Form ( revised one
introduced in 2016 ) , which says :
“
If either yourself or any member of your near
family ( spouse / children / son-in-law / daughter-in-law ) have held any
position in Parliament or State Legislature or Municipal Corporation , at any
time during past 5 years , provide full details below :…………………. “
For 2016-17 assessment year, the tax
department has unveiled new
income tax return form
For persons with income above Rs 50
lakhs, it requires submission of following details ( with cost of each item ) :
* All immovable assets ( such
as land / buildings etc )
* All movable assets ( such as
Cash, Jewellery , Vehicles , Yachts etc )
* All liabilities ( such as
loans )
For rest of the “ permanent mechanism “ and “ informed choice of the candidate “ , find
Solutions at :
ElectoralReforms Through Backdoor ? [ 03 April 2016 ]