The Representation of People’s Act, 1951 contains 171 sections and 13 parts. The Act was framed by the Parliament for the effective election process. The Act was enacted before the first general election under Article 327 of the Constitution by the provisional Parliament.
The provisions included in the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 are:
- It regulates how elections and by-elections are held.
- It provides the administrative infrastructure for holding elections.
- It includes laws to combat corruption and other crimes.
- Qualification of Member of Parliament and Member of Legislative Assembly.
- Disqualification of Member of Parliament and Member of Legislative Assembly.
- It lays out the method for resolving election-related concerns and controversies.
- Registration of Political Parties
1. Qualification for Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly:
The Representation of People Act 1951, talks about the person who is qualified to contest the election. According to Article 173 of the Indian Constitution, the person should be a citizen of India and not less than 25 years of age to be a member of the Legislative Assembly and not less than 30 years to be a member of the Legislative Council.
A. Qualification for Lok Sabha:
- To contest election on the seats reserved for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe in any state, he should be a member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe of any state and he should be an elector for any Parliamentary Constituency.
- To contest elections for Scheduled Tribes in the autonomous districts of Assam or in the Union territory of Lakshadweep a person should satisfy the following conditions
- He should be a member of the Scheduled Tribes and
- He should be an elector for the Parliamentary constituency in the autonomous district or Union Territory.
3. To contest election from any other seat he should be an elector for any Parliamentary constituency.
B. Qualification for State Legislative Assembly:
- To contest election for the seat reserved for Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribes he should a member of that Scheduled caste or Scheduled Tribes of that state and an elector for any Assembly constituency in that state.
- To contest election for the seat reserved for an autonomous district of Assam, he should be a member of Scheduled Tribe of any autonomous district and he is an elector of that Assembly constituency in which the seat is reserved.
- To contest from any other seat, he should be an elector for any Assembly constituency of that state.
C. Qualification for Legislative Council of a State:
- The person contesting elections should be an elector for any Assembly constituency in that state.
- He is an ordinarily resident of that State.
2. Disqualifications of the Members of the Parliament or Members of the State Legislative Assembly:
Chapter III of Part II of the Representation of People Act, 1951 provides for the disqualification from becoming a Member of the Parliament or Assembly.
The Disqualifications are:
- Section 8 of the RPA, 1951 provides for the disqualification for certain offenses such as electoral, economic, or criminal. These offenses have been considered by the Parliament a ground for the disqualification of a convicted person for membership of Parliament and the state legislature.
- Section 8 (4) of the RPA, 1951 provides for disqualification, if a person has been sentenced to imprisonment for more than two years for an offense then he shall be disqualified from the date of such imprisonment and for a period of six years after his release.
- Section 9 (1) of the RPA, 1951 says that a government servant dismissed for corruption or disloyalty to the state shall be disqualified for five years to contest election from the date of dismissal.
- Section 9 (A) of the RPA, 1951 provides for disqualification for a certain contract with the Government.
- Section 10 of the RPA, 1951 provides for the disqualification for holding offices under a Government company.
- Section 10 (A) of the RPA, 1951 says that if a candidate fails to lodge the account of his election expenses within the time provided the candidate shall be disqualified by the Election Commission. As per Section 77 (1) of the RPA, 1951 every candidate who is contesting the election has to keep and maintain a separate account of his election expenses.
- Section 8A (1) of the RPA, 1951 states that a person is disqualified on grounds of commission of corrupt practices made by him during and in the election.
3. Registration of Political Parties:
Part IVA, Section 29A of the RPA, 1951 gives power to the Election Commission of India to register associations and bodies as political parties. The party registered will get many benefits. The RPA allows political parties to accept voluntary contributions, gets preference in allotment of election symbols.
A. The provisions that are required by the political party to be considered as the state political party if any of these conditions are fulfilled:
- The party has won 3 percent of seats in the legislative assembly of the state in the general election or legislative assembly elections.
- The party has polled 8 percent of votes in a state at a general election to Lok Sabha.
- The party has won 1 Lok Sabha seat for every 25 Lok Sabha seats allotted for the state.
- The party has polled 6 percent of votes in a state and in addition, it has won 1 Lok Sabha or 2 Legislative Assembly seats.
- The party has polled 8 percent of votes in a state at a general election or legislative assembly elections.
B. A party shall be considered as a national political party only if any of these conditions are fulfilled:
- The party wins 2 percent of the seats in the Lok Sabha from at least three different states.
- The party polls 6 percent of votes in four states and in addition, it wins at least 4 Lok Sabha seats at a general election to Lok Sabha or legislative assembly elections.
- A party gets recognition as a state party in four or more states.
4. Election Petition:
Part IV of the RPA, 1951 deals with the disputes regarding the elections and provides the manner for the presentation of election petitions.
An election petition is a procedure for inquiring the validity of election results of Parliament or local government elections. It can be filed by any candidate.
Section 100 of the RPA, 1951 provides the grounds for filing the election petition. The election of a particular candidate can be declared void by the High Court if:
- Any corrupt practice has been committed by a returned candidate or by his election agent or by any other person with the consent of the returned candidate.
- The nomination has been improperly accepted.
- The returned candidate was not qualified on the date of his election or was disqualified to fill the seat.
- The candidate has not complied with the provisions of the Constitution or Representation of the People’s Act.
The petition can be filed by any candidate to the authorized officer of the High Court and it shall be filed within 45 days from the date of declaration of results.
The Representation of People’s Act, 1951 has proved to be an efficient mechanism through which a check can be made towards the candidate being elected to the legislature. The RPA, 1951 is very useful in keeping the legislature out of the influence of criminals or non-deserving candidates.