SC reserves verdict on plea against political parties failing to declare criminal antecedents of candidates in Bihar polls

New Delhi [India], July 20 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the plea seeking contempt action against those political parties which failed to declare and publicise criminal antecedents of their candidates in the 2020 Bihar State Assembly elections.
"We reserve the order," the bench of the Apex Court, headed by Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman said.
The Supreme Court made it clear that its orders of February 13, 2020, have to be complied with by all the political parties in connection with the directions for political/electoral candidates to disclose all the criminal antecedents through wide publication.
"Our orders have to be followed with," a bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman and also comprising Justice B R Gavai said.
The top court was hearing a contempt petition filed by one Brajesh Singh against the political parties for allegedly failing to declare the antecedents of candidates during the 2020 Bihar state Assembly elections.
Singh had filed the contempt petition before the Supreme Court, seeking appropriate directions and orders against those political parties and persons concerned for allegedly not complying with the apex court's order of February 13, 2020.
The apex court order had said that it is mandatory for the political parties to upload on their respective websites, information regarding pending criminal cases against their candidates.
Singh's petition has alleged that the top court's order was disobeyed during the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections.
Various political parties -- including the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and CPI(M), today, during the course of the hearing, tendered an "unconditional apology" to the Apex court for failing to file a detailed affidavit and publicising the criminal antecedents of the candidates.