Even after conviction by a court for electoral malpractices many continue to be on the electoral rolls, despite the Representation of People’s Act providing for de-listing such offenders. A Coimbatore-based RTI activist has unearthed nearly 200 cases wherein no action has been initiated by the Election Commission (EC) on removing such people.
Existing legal provisions are sufficient to debar them from voting for a period of six years. But, making a mockery of it, they continue to be voters.
In a representation submitted to Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar, activist M Loganathan, a practising lawyer and coordinator of NGO Federation for Sustainable Development, has provided the names and addresses of those who have been convicted of election-related offences but continue to be on the electoral rolls.
Loganathan has urged the EC to act swiftly and de-list the offenders who were convicted for electoral malpractices during the 2011 Assembly elections, as per Section 11A(1) of the Representation of People’s Act, from the present electoral rolls.
The details of those convicted have been painstakingly collected by filing RTI petitions in many police stations across the State.
According to Section 11A, any person who is convicted of an offence punishable under Section 171-E or Section 171-F of the IPC, or under Section 125 or Section 135, or Clause (a) of sub-section (2 of Section 136 of this Act), shall, for a period of six years from the date of conviction or from the date on which the order takes effect, be disqualified from voting in any election.