The Indian Supreme Court yesterday said that lawmakers with criminal backgrounds should not serve in government, as 13 ministers face charges for attempted murder, rioting and other offenses.
The ruling is likely to put pressure on right-wing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who swept to power this year pledging clean governance.
The court ruled that Modi should be left to choose his own Cabinet, but said it hoped he would ultimately take into account public expectations and India’s democratic values.
“We leave it to the wisdom of the prime minister to see whether people with criminal backgrounds are appointed as ministers,” Supreme Court Justice Dipak Misra told the court.
“Ultimately, it is expected that people with criminal backgrounds should not be part of the council of ministers,” said Misra, who headed a bench of five judges. “Ultimately, it is expected that the prime minister should consider and not choose a person with a criminal background and that is the constitution’s expectation.”
The court was handing down its judgement on a petition seeking to bar legislators with “criminal backgrounds, “ including those charged, but not yet convicted of crimes, from being appointed ministers in state and federal governments.
The court said it could not disqualify such people from the Cabinet. India bans those convicted of serious crimes from holding office, but not those facing charges.
Modi won a landslide election in May partly on a promise to clean up government after the previous Indian National Congress-led administration was plagued by corruption and other scandals. Thirteen of Modi’s 45 ministers have been charged with criminal offenses, eight of those involving serious charges, according to the Delhi-based Association of Democratic Reforms, a clean government advocacy group.
Indian Minister of Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti has 13 cases pending, including two charges related to attempted murder and six charges related to rioting, the association said.
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