Law Minister is legally correct in disagreeing with Verma Panel on disqualification

One of the recommendations of report of the Justice J.S Verma committee constituted following the brutal gang rape of a Delhi girl is fraught with pitfalls. The recommendation calls for disqualification of a legislator facing rape charges. Recently a district police-chief of Bihar has claimed that 90% of rape cases lodged with the police are false. My perception is that a majority of FIRs in general registered are false. The Verma panel has also recommended amendment in the Representation of the People Act for this purpose. 

The Law Minister is legally-constitutionally correct to show his unwillingness to amend the Act on this count in the face of falsity of cases and low conviction rate, on the premise that one should not be held guilty unless convicted. 

Governments of the day control police and prosecution and may misuse it as a tool of political vendetta. Merely to disqualify a legislator on the basis of charges framed against him by a Court is flawed. We all know how Courts in practice are mechanical not only in taking cognizance but also in framing charges in such cases. The lower courts are very wary on this count and are inclined to play safe by continuing the trial.

There are cases when politicians and other influential people have actually committed such heinous crimes and the public also know that. The remedy is that political parties must not give them tickets. The voters have also a duty not to vote for such criminals.

Unless police reforms are implemented, policing & investigation segregated, prosecution is made independent and above all corruption & lethargy in judiciary is reduced if not eliminated; we will not be able to purge such criminality from politics and other areas of societal activity.