The High Court of Karnataka has directed the State Election Commission (SEC) to issue forms for the declaration of criminal antecedents by the candidates contesting elections for local bodies, and for intimating such declarations to the general public through media publications as per the directions issued by the Supreme Court in its 2018 judgment.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. Dixit issued the direction while dismissing an appeal filed by H.V. Ashok of Haridravati in Shivamogga district.
Directions of the apex court to be implemented by the SEC
Each contesting candidate should fill a form provided by the Election Commission and it must contain all the particulars
The form should state, in bold letters, criminal cases pending against the candidate
If a candidate is contesting an election on the ticket of a particular party, he/she is required to inform the party about the criminal cases pending against him/her
The political party concerned shall be obligated to put up on its website information pertaining to its candidates having criminal antecedents
The candidate and the political party concerned shall issue a declaration in widely circulated newspapers in the locality about the antecedents of the candidate and also give wide publicity in the electronic media at least thrice after filing of the nomination papers
