New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday said that judiciary cannot stop corrupt politicians from fighting elections.
As per SC it could not enter the domain of the legislature, which alone was competent to enact a law on this issue.
A bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu said the idea of restraining people against whom a court had framed charges for committing serious crimes looked very "attractive and noble" but the court had its limitation and it could not pass such an order.
The bench also comprising Justices A K Sikri and Arun Mishra said, "In the name of judicial activism, we cannot enter into an area belonging to Parliament. Separation of power is a basic structure of Constitution and we must respect it". "It is for Parliament to decide. They know how to run the country and who should run for election. We should not step in," it added.
Senior advocate Dinesh Dwivedi, appearing for an NGO which had sought a ban on tainted people contesting elections, said the court could issue guidelines to stop growing criminalization of politics.
Agreeing with the ASG's submission, the bench said when the constitution bench had refused to pass an order against appointment of tainted representatives in the council of ministers, how it could pass an order preventing tainted persons from contesting elections.
The bench also said that in criminal jurisprudence, a person was presumed innocent till he was convicted and his right to contest elections could not be curtailed just because charges were framed against him.
