The Parliament on January 19, 2024, published the following Bills to further amend the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1951
The following has been amended namely: -
• In Section 62 which states “Right to Vote” in Subsection 5 the following shall be substituted namely: -
for the words “or transportation or otherwise,”, the words “or facing trial for a non-bailable offense punishable with imprisonment for more than seven years” shall be substituted.
[Bill No. VII of 2023]
• In Section 29A which states “Registration with the Election Commission of associations and bodies as political parties” after sub-section (9), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely,:—
"Provided further that the Election Commission can de-register or withdraw recognition of any political party, if the Commission has conclusive evidence that elected representatives and office bearers of a political party are engaged in propagating hatred, spreading fake information through various media, engaging in hate speech and functioning contrary to the principles of socialism, secularism, and democracy enshrined in our Constitution.".
[Bill No. XXIII of 2023]
• In Section 8 which states “Disqualification on conviction for certain offenses” after sub-section (3) the following provisos shall be inserted, namely:—
"Provided that in case of a person who on the date of conviction is a member of Parliament or the Legislature of a State, the disqualification shall take effect from the date of dismissal of the appeal by the Supreme Court against such conviction.
Provided further that at any stage, an appeal or application for revision in respect of the conviction or the sentence shall be preferred within a period of one month and in case such an appeal is not preferred within the said period, the disqualification shall be deemed to be effective from the day immediately following the expiration of the said period."
[Bill No. L of 2023]
