​Lawfare politics: on the Bills for political probity

Three Bills, including one for a constitutional amendment, introduced hurriedly by the Centre towards the end of the Parliament session, are purportedly meant to improve probity and accountability for the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and Ministers. They will lose their position if any of them is detained by a law enforcement agency in connection with an offence that is punishable with imprisonment of five years or more. Upon acquittal, they could return. Any objective observer would be sceptical of the stated intent of these proposals. The concern expressed by the Opposition and legal minds that the proposals open a new avenue for concentration of power with the Centre is legitimate. The claim that the proposed legal regime applies equally to the Prime Minister too is weak, considering the fact that all investigative agencies are under the administrative control of the Centre. No central agency will ever detain a Prime Minister; but they have already arrested several Opposition Chief Ministers. When viewed against the backdrop of the pattern of the functioning of central agencies, such as the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation, the real intent of the new proposals by the Centre appears to be to empower itself with sweeping and arbitrary powers, which can be used against political rivals.

The police are eager to arrest. The increasing difficulty in obtaining bail due to harsh provisions in laws such as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, as well as a judicial diffidence in granting bail is making liberty disturbingly dispensable. Corruption is dangerous for a society, but combating it cannot be at the cost of the principles of justice. Corruption prosecutions have attained an unmistakable political character in recent years. The pattern of an individual being a target of investigation when in the Opposition, but no longer once he or she switches sides to the Bharatiya Janata Party is noticeable. If the new proposals are enacted into law, an elected official can be removed from office by mere police action, and without a fair trial, not to mention a judicial conviction. Considering the certainty that this will, in practice, only apply to State/Union Territory governments, it will also be a violation of federal principles. It is not a mere coincidence that the Centre is seeking to invest in State Governors a veto over any and all decisions of elected legislatures. The existing laws provide for the removal from office of elected officials who are convicted in cases as defined in the new proposals. These proposals amount to holding someone guilty until proven innocent, and also dishonouring the verdict of the people who elected them.