Government evades question on verification of candidates affidavit during polls, says matter is sub judice

The government sidestepped the question of creating a mechanism to verify candidates’ statements during elections. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, while replying to a question from Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP Mallikarjun Kharge, merely stated that the issue was as follows: lower court in Allahabad High Court.

Mr. Kharge had asked the Ministry of Law and Justice whether the government had taken into consideration the committee’s observation that the responses given by both the government and the Election Commission regarding the creation of a mechanism to verify candidate’s statements were not in the nature of commitment.

He also asked whether the government proposed revisiting these recommendations for a transparent affidavit verification system using technology and real-time data checks. He questioned whether there had been consultation with the Electoral Commission or other institutions on the issue, and if so, the details of the same and when the verification mechanism would be put in place.

In his written reply, Mr. Meghwal said that the issue regarding the mechanism of verification of affidavits of candidates is currently being discussed. lower court in the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

In August, a Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court had observed: at first glance The EC appears to be the statutory body responsible for making asset verification reports (obtained from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)) publicly available. The bench of justices Manjive Shukla and Ranjan Roy therefore sought an affidavit from the EC with an explanation as to why the verification reports of candidate’s affidavits, which were mandated to be made public by the Supreme Court in 2018, have not been released so far.

ECI had claimed in the past that the same should be done by the Income Tax department.