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REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT, 1950
43 of 1950
10th May, 1950
STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS "Articles 81 and 170 lay down the maximum number of seats in Parliament and in Legislative Assemblies of States, and also certain principles to be followed in allocating seals in the House of the People among the States and in the Stale Legislative Assemblies, but have left the actual allocation of such seats to be provided by law. Article 171 of the Constitu- tion lays down the maximum and minimum number of seats in the Legislative Council of a State, and also specifies the various methods in which the seats shall be filled, but the actual number of seats to be filled by each such method has been left to be provided by law. The Bill seeks to provide for the allocation of seats in the House of the People and in the Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils of States. In allotting seats in the House of the People to the different States and in fixing the total number of seats in the Legislative Assemblies of different States, the present population of each State as on 1st March 1950, estimated inconsul- tation with the Census Commissioner for India, has been taken into account. The Bill also seeks to confer on the President the powers to delimit, after consultation with the Election Commis- sion, the various constituencies for the purpose of elections to fill seats in the House of the People and in the Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils of Stales. It further provides for the registration of electors for Parliamentary Cor- stituencies and for the Assembly and Council Constituencies, and the qualifications and disqualifications for such registra- tion. A special provision has been included for relaxation of the residence qualification in the case of displaced persons who migrated before the 25th day of July, 1949, to India from the territory of Pakistan. Provisions have been made for the preparation of electoral rolls, the period of currency of such rolls, and the revision and correction of such rolls during such period in special cases. Certain action was already taken by the Constituent Assembly Secretarial for the preparation of the electoral rolls for elections to the House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies of the States. A provision has accordingly been included in the Bill for the validation of such acts.-Gaz. of Ind., 1950, Pt. II.S. 2, p. 224. Amending Act 73 of 1950.- Clause (5) of Article 80 of the Constitution provides that the representatives of the States specified in Part C of the First Schedule in the Council of States shall be chosen in such manner as Parliament may by law prescribe. According to the Table of Seals contained in the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution [as amended by the Constitution (Amendment of the First and Fourth Schedules) Order. 1950 issued under Article 391), there have to be ten representatives of Part C States in the Council of States of which four have been allotted to Vindhya Pradesh, one each to Bhopal, Delhi and Kutch, one to Ajmer and Coorg, one to Himachal Pradesh and Bilaspur, and one to Manipur and Tripura. The Bill seeks to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950 to introduce therein provisions as to the method to be adopted for the choosing of representatives of such Slates in the Council of States. It is proposed that the seat allotted to the States of Manipur and Tripura should be filled by a person nominated by the President every second year to represent the State of Manipur and the State of Tripura in rotation. The seats allotted to other Part C States are proposed to be Filled by election in territorial constituencies by special electorates constituted for the purpose consisting of elected members of local authorities and persons who have passed the matriculation examination or other equivalent examination. A combined electorate for the States of Ajmer and Coorg which have been allotted only one seat between them will not be satisfactory. A special provision has accordingly been included for filling this seat by rotation by holding election every two years in the State of Ajmer and in the State of Coorg. The Bill also seeks to enact the provisions of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1950 which was promulgated on the 17th day of October, 1950. This provides for the preparation of the first electoral rolls in relation to such electoral units in each State as the Elections Commission may in consultation with the Government of that State direct, and also for the preliminary publication of the electoral rolls by reference to such electoral units instead of constituencies which have not yet been delimited. It also provides that after each constituency in a Slate has been deter- mined and the claims and objections in respect of the electoral rolls for all the electoral units or parts of such units as comprised in such constituency have been disposed of, the rolls shall be published as the electoral roll for such constitu- ency. These provisions which are designed to expedite the final preparation of electoral rolls and under which action has already been taken in a number of States require to be confirmed by Parliament.-Gaz. of India, 25-11-1950, Pt. II, S. 2, Ext., p. 389. III Amending Act 67 of 1951.- Under the Constitution the tribal areas specified in Part B of the Table appended to paragraph 20 of the Sixth Schedule thereto are comprised within the State of Assam but their administration is carried on by the President through the Governor of Assam as an agent on the same footing as a territory specified in Part D of the First Schedule. These areas have accordingly been taken out of the purview of clause (1) of Article 81 and Article 170 of the Constitution so far as Assam is concerned by the Constitution (Removal of Difficulties) Order No. VIII made by the President under Article 392 of the Constitution. Clause (2) of Article 81 and Article 82 of the Constitution were also amended by the said Order so as to confer power on Parliament to provide for the representation of those areas in the House of the People. No provision has however been made in the Representation of the People Act 1950 for the representation of these areas in the House of the People. Clauses 2 to 5 of the Bill seek to make provisions for the representation of the said areas in the House of the People. Clause 8 of the Bill seek to make a consequential amendment in Section 4 of the Representation of the. People Act, 1951(XLIII of 1951 ) 2. Clauses 6 and 7 of the Bill seek to correct certain minor mistakes in the list of Scheduled Castes in Himachal Pradesh and in the list of.Scheduled Tribes in Vindhya Pradesh contained respectively in the Sixth and Seventh Schedules to the Representation of the People Act, 1950. -Gaz. of India, 6- 10-1951, Pt. II, S. 2. Ext., p. 756. IV Amending Act 72 of 1956.- The Representation of the People (Third Amendment) Act. 1956, was enacted to effect the prompt enrolment as electors of those displaced persons who register themselves as Citizens of India underSection 5( 1 )(a) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, before the 1st November, 1956. It was then thought that the bulk of eligible displaced-persons would have been registered as Citizens of India before the 1st November, 1956, but as this expectation was not fulfulled, it was suggested by the Election Commission that an Ordinance should be promulgated extending the said date tothe 1stDecember, 1956, in order to enable a larger number of these recently registered Citizens being brought on the electoral rolls. Accordingly the Representation ofthe People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1956 (No 9 of 1956) was promulgated. The proposed Bill seeks to replace the Ordinance.-Gaz. of India, 21-11-1956, Pt. II, S. 2, Ext. p. 870. V Amending Act 60 of 1956.- It is proposed to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950, in order that the displaced persons who migrated from Pakistan can exercise their right of franchise in the next general elections in accord - ance with the assurance given in Parliament when the Citizenship Bill was under discussion. Under the provisions ofthe Representation of the People Act, 1950, aperson's name cannot be included in the electoral roll of a constituency unless he is a Citizen of India and was ordinarily resident in that constituency, on the 1 st March, 1956. The first step required to be taken, therefore, is to register the displaced persons as Citizens of India. The Citizenship Rules have come into force on the 7th July. 1956, and arrangements have been made for the registration of persons as Citizens of India under Section 5(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. Considering the number of such persons in the various States (and particularly in the West Bengal where it runs into lakhs), the work of registration is not likely to be completed before the end of October, 1956. By that time, the electoral rolls for the year 1956 now underpreparation are expected to be ready for final publication in most places. It will not, therefore, be possible, without some special provision, for the election machinery to include in the electoral roll the names of displaced persons who would be registered as Citizens of India underSection 5(1)(a)of the said Act. 2. In these circumstances, the best course appears to be to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950. making a special and temporary provision to achieve the object in view. It is proposed that every authority registering as citizens underSection 5(l)(a) of the Citizenship Act, persons ordinarily resident in a constituency should by the 31st December, 1956, send to the electoral registration officer for the constituency a list of all persons so registered who, on the 1st March, 1956, were not less than 21 years of age. On receiving the list, the electoral registration officer shall, after making due inquiries, direct the inclusion in the electoral roll of the names of all persons included in the list who, in this opinion, are entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for the constituency. This special procedure will be available only to those displaced persons who are registered as citizens under section 5(l)(a) of the Citizenship Actbefore 1st November, 1956, and who were ordinarily resident in India in some constituency or other on 1st March, 1956. - Gaz. of India, 1-9- 1956, Pt. II, S. 2, Ext., page 809. VI Amending Act 2 of 1963.- The local authorities specified in the Fourth Schedue to the Representation of the People Act, 1950, in pursuance ofArticle 171(3) of the Constitutionread withSection 27(2)of the abovementioned Act form the basis of the electorate of local authorities' constituencies of the Slate Legislative Councils. Unless the lists of these local authorities are kept up-to-date, there are difficulties in the holding of bye-elections from the local authorities' constituencies. Recently there have been changes in the lists of local authorities lor Maharashtra, Madras and Uttar Pradesh with inauguration of Panchayat Raj in Maharashtra, District Boards. District Local Boards, and Janapada Sabhas (Rural Circle) have been replaced by Zilla Parishads. In Madras "Class 1 Panchayats" have been reclassified as "Town Panchayats" and in Uttar Pradesh "Kshettra Samitis" have been introduced by the U.P. Kshetra Samitis and Zilla Parishads Act, 1961. The State Governments concerned want these new local bodies to be mentioned in their respective lists of local authorities in the Fourth Schedule. Any change in the lists of these local authorities can only be effected by Parliament by law. Accordingly the Bill seeks to make the necessary changes in the lists of local authorities in the Fourth Schedule to give effect to the above proposals for the State Governments.-Gaz.. of India, 5-12-1962, Pt. II, S. 2. Ext., page 1290. VII Amending Act 33 of 1964.- A member of the Armed Forces of the Unions is by virtue of Section 20(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, deemed to be ordinarily resident in his home constituency and, therefore, is eligible for registration as a voter in the electoral roll for such constituency, although on account of exigencies of service he may be away from, and not ordinarily resident in, the home constituency at the time of preparation or revision of the electoral roll. As a corollary to this, a member of the Armed Forces of the Union is, by virtue ofSection 60 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, entitled to give his vote by postal ballot. 2. Such facilities are not, however, available to the members of the Armed Police Forces of a State, when they are employed on duty outside the State. This is anomalous. It is proposed to remove this anomaly by bringing such members of the Armed Police Forces of a State on a par with the members of the Armed Forces of the Union. 3. The Bill seeks to achieve this object by amendingSection 20of the Representation of the People Act. 1950 andSection 60 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951-Gaz. of India, 7-9- 1964, Pt. II, S. 2. Ext. p. 442. VIII Amending Act 14 of 1965.- The local authorities specified in the Fourth Schedule to the Representation of the People Act, 1950, in pursuance ofArticle 171 (3) of the Constitution read withSection 27(2)of the abovementioned Act form the basis of the electorate of local authorities' constituencies of the State Legislative Councils. Unless the lists of these local authorities are kept up-to-date, there are difficulties in the holding of byeelections from the local authorities' constituencies. With the inauguration in the States of Panchayat Raj, the list of local authorities appearing in the Fourth Schedule to the Representation of the People Act. 1950 requires modification. The Stales of Andhra Pradesh, Mysore and West Bengal have suggested the following changes in the list of local authorities :- 1. Andhra Pradesh. - Entry No. 4 "City and Town Committees" may be deleted. 2. Mysore. __ "Town Panchayats" may be added lo the existing entries. 3. West Bengal. - "District Boards" and "Local Boards" may be substituted by "Zilla Parishads" and "Anchalik Parishads". Also "Town Committees" may be added to the list. Any change in the lists of these local authorities can only be effected by Parliament by law. Accordingly the Bill seeks to make the necessary changes in the lists of local authorities in the Fourth Schedule to give effect to the above proposals of the State Governments.-Gaz. of India, 29-4-1965, Pt. II, section 2. Ext., p. 363. IX Amending Act XLVII of 1966.- The Election Commission have made a number of recommendations for the amendment of the election law and procedure in its Report on the Third General Elections in India in 1962 and subse- quently. After careful examination, the Government have decided to accept those recommendations excepting those relat- ing to election expenditure, increase in security deposit, multiplicity of candidates and deposit in connection with Presi- dential election. The important recommendations which have been accepted by the Government relate to the following matters :- (i) consolidation of the provisions relating to seats and delimitation orders; (ii) creation of a new officer to be known as the district election officer in the electoral machinery of the country who would be an officer of the Government designated or nominated by the Election Commission in consultation with the State Government and would occupy a position in the electoral hierarchy between the Chief electoral officer of the State and the returning officer for the constituency and be in charge of the preparation and revision of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections; (iii) revision of electoral rolls according to the direction of the Election Commission and not otherwise; (iv) consolidation of the provisions relating to disqualifications for membership and voting; (v) Lessening the rigour of the disqualification resulting from the failure to lodge accounts of election expenses; (vi) conferment of power upon Election Commission to delegate its functions to senior officers of the Commis - sion: (vii) reduction in the time-table for the General Elections by seven days by making suitable changes in the relevant provisions of the 1951 Act; (viii) provision for fresh poll in the case of destruction, loss, etc., of ballot papers at the time of counting: (ix) power of Election Commission in suitable cases to withhold the declaration of results of election; (x) abolition of Election Tribunals and trial of election petitions by High Court: (xi) making free conveyance of voters a corrupt practice and enhancement of the punishment for the offence; (xii) obtaining the assistance of Government employee as a polling or counting agent by a candidate not to be a corrupt practice but penalty for a Government employee acting as an election agent or a polling agent or a counting agent of a candidate to be imposed; (xiii) certain offences by election officers to be cognizable. The Bill is intended to give effect to these recommendations. The notes on clauses explain in detail the various provisions of the Bill.-Gaz. of Ind., 26 -8-1966. Pt. II, section 2, Ext.. p. 692. X Amending Act 88 of 1976.- The Delimitation Commission appointed underthe Delimitation Act, 1972, has completed the work of final determination of the number and the extent of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in respect of all States and Union Territories except the Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh. Under the provisions of the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Act, 1975, the Election Commission has issued its order determining the extent of the Parliamentary constituencies and Assembly constituencies in respect of that Union Territory.Sections 8and9 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950)empower the Election Commission to consolidate all Orders of delimitation into a single Order and to maintain the said Order up-to-date. Those sections andsection 4.section 7and the First Schedule and the Second Schedule to that Act require amendment so as to bring the position in regard to the number of seats and the reference of Orders of Delimitation up-to-date and to enable the Election Commission to issue a new consolidated order. The Bill seeks to achieve the above object.-Gaz. of India, 13-8-1976, Pt. II, section, 2, Ext., p. 1090. XI Amending Act 8 of 1980.- The Assembly for Sikkim formed as a result of the elections held in Sikkim in April, 1974 comprised of 32 members. All the seats in this Assembly were reserved - 15 each for Sikkimese of Bhutia -Lepcha origin and Sikkimese of Nepali origin and one each for Scheduled Castes and for Sanghas belonging to Monasteries. The Constitution (Thirty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1975 by which Sikkim became a State of India, inserted in the Constitution of a special Article - Article 371-F-with respect to Sikkim for deeming this Assembly to be the first Legislative Assembly of the State of Sikkim under the Constitution, and for making other special provisions with respect to the State. Clause (f) of the said Article 371-F enabled Parliament to make. for the purpose of protecting the rights and interests of different sections of the population of Sikkim, provision for the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the State which may be filled by candidates belonging to such sections and for the delimitation of the assembly constituencies from which candidates belonging to such sections alone may stand for election to the Legislative Assembly of the State. 2. With a view to facilitating the holding of a General Election for the purpose of constituting a new legislative Assembly for the State of Sikkim on the expiration of the duration of the first Legislative Assembly of the State under the Constitution, a Bill entitled "The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 1979" was introduced in the Sixth Lok Sabha on the 18th May, 1979. The Bill sought to make provision for the readjustment of the assembly constituencies in the State of Sikkim and for the reservation of seats in the Legislative Assembly. The following passage from the Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to this Bill explains the basis on which reservations were provided for in the Bill : "Under the existing arrangements, the seats in the Assembly (the Assembly formed in 1974) are reserved for the Nepalese, Bhutias and Lepchas, the Scheduled Castes and the Sanghas belonging to the monasteries. As a result, other residents of Sikkim are not eligible to contest elections to the Assembly. In the circumstances, it has become necessary to modify the existing setup................. so as to ensure a fair representation to all sections of the population of the State in the Assembly. At the same time it is considered that if the Bhutias and Lepchas who arc the original inhabitants of Sikkim, are given representation solely according to their population ratio, their interests may not be properly safeguarded. Accord - ingly, it has been decided that 12 seats ...............may be reserved for Bhutias and Lepchas. In addition the reservation of one seal for the Sanghas may be allowed to continue. The Scheduled Castes population in Sikkim is mostly of Nepalese origin. Based on the population the Scheduled Castes in Sikkim qualify for two seals in the legislative Assembly ................ on the basis of the reservation proposed, the remaining 17 seals in the Legislative Assembly will be general seals open to all electors." The Bill lapsed on the dissolution of the Sixth Lok Sabha. 3. The first Legislative Assembly of Sikkim was dissolved by the Governor of Sikkim on 13th August, 1979. It, therefore, became urgently necessary to make provision for the delimitation of the assembly constituencies in the Stale and for the reservation of seals in the Assembly tor different sections of the people. Accordingly, an Ordinance on the lines of the Representatin of the People (Amendment) Bill, 1979 which lapsed on the dissolution of the Sixth Lok Sabha was promulgated by the President on the 1st September, 1979. On the basis of the provisions of this Ordinance, a General Election for the purpose of constituting a new Legislative Assembly for the State of Sikkim has been held and the new Legislative Assembly has already been duly constituted. It is, therefore, necessary to replace the Ordinance by an Act of Parliament. Hence this Bill.-Gaz. of India, 25-1-1980, Pt. II, setion 2, Extra.. p. 20. Act 31 of 1987. –In pursuance ofArticle 171 of the Constitutionread withsection 10 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950), the number of seals allocated to the Legislative Councils of States having such Councils and the number of seats to be filled by persons elected by the electorates referred to in clause (3) of Article 171 of the Constitution are specified in the Third Schedule to the said Act. Undersection 27(2) of the 1950 Act, the Fourth Schedule to that Act specifics the local authorities for purposes of elections to the Legislative Councils, 2. The State Government of Karnataka has informed that the Legislative Assembly of the Stale has unanimously passed a resolution recommending that the total number of members of the Karnataka Legislative Council be increased to 75. It has also been informed by that State Government that with the coming into force of the Karnataka Zilla Parishads. Taluk Panchayat Samithis, Mandal Panchayats and Nyaya Panchayats Act, 1983 with effect from the 14th August, 1985, the references to "Taluk Development Boards" and "Town Panchayats" in the Fourth Schedule to the Act relating to Karnataka should be changed to "Mandal Panchayats" and "Zilla Parishads" respectively. 3. It is proposed to accept the recommendation of the State Government of Karnalaka. The Bill accordingly seeks to make the necessary changes in the number of seats allocated to the Legislative Council of the Slate of Karnataka in the Third Schedule to the 1950-Act and in the list of local authorities in the Fourth Schedule to that Act.- Gaz. of Ind., 3-8-87, Pt. II. section 2, Ext., p. 2 (No. 30). Act 38 of l987. -The Bill is a sequel to the amendments proposed to be made in Article 332 of the Constitution by the Constitution (Fifty-eighth Amendment) Bill, 1987, for the purpose of providing for reservation of seals for the Sched- uled Tribes in the Legislative Assemblies of the Stales of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. 2. The newsection 9Aproposed to be introduced in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 by clause 2 of the Bill empowers the Election Commission to determine, having regard to the provisions of the Constitution andsection 9(l) (d) of the Delimitation Act, 1972, the assembly constituencies in the Stales of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland which shall be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. Such determination with regard to the assembly constituencies in the State of Arunachal Pradesh will bedone by the Election Commission under the powers given to it by section 14 of the Stale of Arunachal Pradesh Act, 1986. 3. The Bill seeks to achieve the above object.-Gaz. of Ind., 26 -8-87. Pt. II. section 2, Ext., P. 6 (No. 41). Act 40 of 1987. -The Constitution (Fifty-seventh Amendment) Act, 1987 inserted a new clause (3A) in Article 332 of the Constitution to provide for a formula different from that provided in clause (3) of that article for the reservation of Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the States ofArunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. This clause provides for the determination of the number of seats to be so reserved with reference to the actual number of the seats held by the Scheduled Tribes in the existing Legislative Assemblies of those States on the date of commencement of the Constitution Amendment Act. If all the seats of the existing Legislative Assembly are held by the Scheduled Tribes on such commencement, one seat shall be kept open. Simultaneously, the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Act, 1987 was also passed by Parliament giving power to the Election Commission to determine the seats to he reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the State Legislative Assemblies on the basis of the above Constitution Amendment. 2. The determination of the number of seats to be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the aforesaid legislative Assemblies would have been a simple matter, if the same had been left to be determined with reference to the factual position on a past date. But it had been consciously and deliberately left to be determined with reference to a future date. This device of determining reserved seats with reference to the factual position on a future date had to take care of the possibility of changes occurring in the position of the various Legislatures by reason of vacancies on account of death, resignation, disqualification or otherwise. Such a situation has in fact arisen in the case of Nagaland Legislative Assembly. To overcome this difficulty, it was decided to further amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950 to specifically indicate therein the number of seats that would be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assemblies of all these States. This proposal had also been agreed to by the Election Commission which is of the opinion that although the provisions of the Representation of the People (Second Amendment) Act 1987 empowering the Election Commission to determine the Assembly constituencies would enable it to specify the number of seats also, it may not be possible for it to use its discretion to make any increase in the number of seats in view of the present vacancies in the membership of the Nagaland State legislative Assembly and the wording of the new clause (3A) of Article 332 inserted by the Constitution Amendment. 3. The term of the present Legislative Assembly of the Stale of Nagaland is coming to an end on the 28th Novem- ber, 1987 and the Election Commission had to call for elections to that Assembly by the 1st of October. Before the notifi- cation calling for the elections is issued, the Election Commission should have finished its work of determination of the seats to be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in that Assembly. This would involve some procedure and it would take about 10 to 15 days before the orders of such determination are published by it. It was, therefore, necessary to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950 immediately to achieve the object mentioned above. Accordingly, the President promulgated the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1987 on the 22nd September, 1987 to amend the Representation of the People Acl, 1950 to specify that 59 of the 60 scats in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, 55 of the 60 seats in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, 39 of the 40 scats in the Mizoram Legislative Assembly and 39 of the 40 seats in the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly would be reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in the general elections to those Assemblies which may be held in future. The Bill seeks to replace the aforesaid Ordinance. -Gaz. of Ind., 9-11-87, Pt. II, section 2, P. 7 (No. 48). Act 1 of 1989.- The Election Law, so far as elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures arc concerned, is contained in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The former deals with the matters pertaining to elections prior to the stage of actual elections and the latter deals with the actual conduct of elections and all matters connected herewith. These two Acts have been amended periodically in order to bring aobut improvements in the election system in the light of the experience gained in the working of these Acts. 2. Our election system has stood the test of time. Several rounds of elections and bye-elections have been held by the Election Commission and the poll has, on the whole, been free and fair. The people of India have also shown consid- erable maturity in exercising their right of franchise. 3. The question of introducing electoral reforms and making suitable changes in the election law to prevent the occurrence of corrupt practices, which vitiate the conduct of free and lair elections, have been under consideration for some time now. The experience gained over the years, also emphasises the need for further strengthening the measures for ensuring free and lair elections. The Election Commission has also forwarded several proposals for electoral reforms. 4. The various proposals for electoral reforms were widely debated. Government were keen to bring about neces- sary electoral reforms, consultations were held with the political parties in order to ascertain their specific views in the matter. Keeping in view the various suggestions, it has been decided to bring about amendments in the existing election laws. 5. The proposals contained in the present Bill are briefly explained below :- i) At present, all the work relating to the preparation, revision and correction of the electoral rolls and the actual conduct of elections, is carried out by the designated officers of the State Governments concerned. It is felt that the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Representation of the People Act, 1951, in this regard should be clearly defined so that during the relevant period, these officers would, while discharging functions relating to elections, be under the control, superintendence and discipline of the Election Commission. (ii) At present there is no statutory definitions of political party in the Election law. The recognition of a political party and the allotment of symbols for each party are presently regulated under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. It is felt that the Election Law should define political party and lay down the procedure for its registration. It is also fell that the political parties should be required to include a specific provision in the memorandum or rules or regulations governing their functioning that they would fully be committed to and abide by the principles en- shrined in the preamble to the Constitution. (iii)Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, deals with disqualification on the ground of convic- tion for certain offences. It is proposed to include more offences in this section so as to prevent persons having criminal record enter into public life. (ix) For the purpose of preventing frivolous candidates in respect of election to the Council of States and the Legislative Council of States, it is proposed to increase the number of proposers to ten percent, of the total electorate or ten proposers, whichever is less. (v) Technology has made very rapid strides thereby favourably affecting several fields of human activity and leading to betterment all round. It is fell that appropriate modern electronic processes should be deployed, side by side with the existing conventional systems in the voting process. Since the Representation of the People Act, 1951 specifically makes mention only of the ballot paper system of voting, it is proposed to make suitable amendments in the Act in order to facilitate the use of electronic voting machines. (vi) Booth capturing and rigging of elections had been on the increase in the recent past. This evil practice takes different forms, ranging from physical threat to the voter to forcible occupation of polling stations. A large part of our electorate consists of people who are poor and also belong to weaker sections of the society. It is, therefore, necessary to deal with this evil firmly. The Election Law. as it stands, does not contain any provisions to deal with this offence. It has. therefore, been proposed to include specific and penal provisions in the Representation of the People Act, 1951, to deal with this offence and to make it also as a corrupt practice. (vii) The present penalty for disturbing election meetings is only a meagre fine of Rs. 250/-. It is proposed to modify this provision by providing for a term of imprisonment for three months and also enhance the quantum of the fine to Rs. l,000/-. (viii) The Bill also includes certain consequential amendments.-Gaz. of Ind.. 13-12-88, Pt. II, section 2, Ext., P. 113 (No. 61). Act 21 of 1989.- The Constitution (Sixty-First Amendment) Act, 1988 is an historic step in reducing the age of voting from 21 to 18 years and thus providing opportunity of participation to younger generation in the functioning of Parliamentary democracy. It has, therefore, as a consequential measure, become necessary to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950. 2. The Election Commission started the process of revision of electoral rolls covering all those who have now become eligible to vote. For this purpose, 1st of April, 1989 has been proposed to be the qualifying date. It is. therefore, necessary to amendsection 14of the 1950 Act and to validate the actions taken by the Election Commission in this regard, It is also necessary thatsection 19of the 1950-Act should be amended to provide 18 years as the voting age. 3. Opportunity is also being availed of to amendsection 9of the 1950-Act for empowering the Election Commis- sion to consolidate all information relating to Delimitation of
Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies, it is also pro - posed to omit the reference to "Town Committees" in the Fourth Schedule to the 1950 -Act so as to keep the same in conformity with the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965. 4. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objects.-Gaz. of Ind., 6-4-89, Pt. II, section 2, Ext., P. 3 (No. 11). Act 2 of 1990.- In respect of General Election for constituting the Ninth Lok Sabha, the Election Commission had recommended that the Presidential notification undersection 14(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 might be issued on the 23rd October. 1989 calling upon all Parliamentary constituencies other than those within the State of Assam to elect members in accordance with the provisions of that Act and of the rules and orders made thereunder. In the case of Assam, as the revised electoral rolls had not been published in the final form, the question of holding elections from the Parliamentary constituencies in Assam could be taken up only after such final publication of the revised electoral rolls. The Commission accordingly decided to fix a separate programme in due course with respect to the elections from the Parlia- mentary constituencies in Assam and recommended that suitable provisions might be made in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to provide legal cover with regard to the postponing of the elections from the Parliamentary constituen- cies in Assam. The Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 1989 was accordingly promulgated by the President on the 21st October, 1989. 2. The Bill seeks to replace the aforesaid Ordinance. -Gaz. of Ind., 20-12- 89, Pt. II, section 2, Ext., P. 3 (No. 40).
An Act to provide for the allocation of sets in, and the delimitation of constituencies for the purpose of elections to the House of the People and the Legislatures of States, the qualifications of voter at such elections, the preparation of electoral rolls, 1[the manner of filling seats in the Council of States to be Filled by representatives of2[Union Territories,]] and matters connected therewith. BE it enacted by Parliament as follows-
PART 01: PRELIMINARY
SECTION 01: SHORT TITLE
- This Act may be called The Representation of the People Act, 1950.
SECTION 02: DEFINITIONS
-3[*] In this Act unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) 'article' means an article of the Constitution:
(b) 'Assembly constituency' means a constituency provided4[by law] for the purpose of elections to the Legislative Assembly of a State:
(c) 'Council constituency' means a constituency provided5[by law] for the purpose of election to the Legislative Council of State:6[ * * * * *]
(d) 'Election Commission' means the Election Commission appointed by the President under Article 324;
(e) 'Order' means an order published in the Official Gazette;
(f) 'Parliamentary constituency' means a constituency provided7[by law] for the purpose of elections to the House of the People;
8[(ff) * * * * *]
(g) 'person' does not include a body of persons:
(h) 'prescribed' means prescribed by rules made under this Act:
9[(i) 'State' includes a Union Territory:
(j) 'State Government' in relation to a Union Territory means the administrator thereof;]
10[* * * * * ]
PART 02: ALLOCATION OF SEATS AND DELIMITATION OF CONSTITUENCIES THE HOUSE OF THE PEOPLETHE DELIMITATION OF PARLIAMENTARY AND ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCIES ORDERTHE STATE LEGISLATIVE COUNCILSPROVISIONS AS TO ORDERS DELIMITING CONSTITUENCIES
SECTION 03: ALLOCATION OF SEATS IN THE HOUSE OF THE PEOPLE
-The allocation of seals to the States in the House of the People and the number of seals, if any, to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes and for the Scheduled Tribes of each State shall be as shown in the First Schedule.]
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