Parliamentary Panel Suggests Greater Punishment For False Poll Affidavit

The punishment for filing a false election affidavit should be enhanced to a maximum of two years from the present six months but the penalty should only be applied in exceptional cases and not for minor errors or unintentional mistakes, a parliamentary committee said on Friday.

According to section 125A of the Representation of the People Act, the penalty for filing a false affidavit is a jail term that may extend to six months, or fine or both.

The standing committee on Law and Personnel headed by BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi said that to ensure fair elections and to protect citizens' constitutional rights, the punishment under Section 125A should be increased to a maximum of two-year imprisonment and a fine.

"The Committee observes that the current punishment, which is only six months under Section 125A, is insufficient and should be increased. The severity of punishment should be based on the severity of the offence committed," it said.

However, the penalty should only be applied in "exceptional cases" and not for minor errors or unintentional mistakes.

"Under the new provision, submitting a false affidavit should be considered a violation of constitutional provisions, and an election may be invalidated under sub-Section 1(d)(iv) of Section 100 of the (RP) Act," it said.

Section 100 deals with grounds for declaring the election to be void.