9 Parties Fined In Supreme Court's Big Move In Decriminalising Politics

The Congress, BJP and five other parties have been fined Rs 1 lakh each. The CPM and the Nationalist Congress Party have been fined Rs 5 lakh for not following the order in last year's Bihar election.

Nine political parties including the BJP and Congress were held guilty of contempt and fined today by the Supreme Court for not making public criminal records of their poll candidates. The Congress, BJP and five other parties have been fined Rs 1 lakh each. The CPM and the Nationalist Congress Party have been fined Rs 5 lakh for not following the order in last year's Bihar election. The Supreme Court warned parties to be cautious about declaring the criminal records of candidates in the future and displaying the information on their websites. The Election Commission has been asked to create a mobile app that has the information for voters to access easily. Records of criminal cases have to be made public by parties within 48 hours of the candidate's selection, the Supreme Court said in a big step towards decriminalising politics.