| Contents |
| Chapter I |
Background to the Report |
| A. |
History of Electoral Reform in India |
| B. |
Consultation Paper Issued by the Law Commission |
| C. |
The 244th Report of the Law Commission |
| D. |
The Present Report |
| Chapter II |
Election Finance Reform |
|
Election Finance Reform |
| A. |
The Current Law: A Summary Snapshot |
| B. |
Need for Election Finance Reform |
| C. |
Laws Regulating Election Expenditure, Contributions, and Disclosure |
| (i) |
Laws regulating election expenditure for candidates |
| (ii) |
Laws regulating election expenditure for political parties: Third party expenditure |
| (iii) |
Laws regulating disclosure of election expenditure for candidates and parties |
| (iv) |
Laws regulating contribution to political parties |
| (v) |
Laws regulating disclosure of political contribution by parties and companies |
| D. |
Electoral Expenditure, Disclosure, and Contribution: A Comparative Analysis |
| (i) |
United Kingdom |
| (ii) |
Germany |
| (iii) |
United States of America |
| (iv) |
Australia |
| (v) |
Japan |
| (vi) |
Philippines |
| E. |
Legal Lacunae and the Under-reporting of Election Spending |
| (i) |
Understanding the reality of election financing today |
| (ii) |
Legal lacunae |
| (iii) |
Recommendations |
| (a) |
On Expenses and Contribution |
| (b) |
On Disclosure |
| (c) |
On Penalties |
| (d) |
On electoral trusts |
|
On Expenses and Contribution |
|
On Disclosure |
|
On Penalties |
|
On Electoral Trusts |
| F. |
State Funding of Elections |
| (i) |
History of reform proposals |
| (ii) |
Comparative provisions governing public funding of elections |
| (iii) |
Recommendations |
| G. |
Recommendations |
| (a) |
On Expenses and Contribution |
| (b) |
On Disclosure |
| (c) |
On Penalties |
|
Relating to political parties |
| (d) |
On State Funding of Elections |
| Chapter III |
Regulation of Political Parties and Inner Party Democracy |
|
Regulation of Political Parties and Inner Party Democracy |
| A. |
History of Reform Proposals |
| B. |
Laws Regulating Internal Democracy |
| C. |
Internal Democracy: A Comparative Perspective |
| (i) |
Germany |
| (ii) |
Portugal |
| (iii) |
Spain |
| D. |
Recommendations |
| Chapter IV |
From First Past the Post to Proportional Representation |
| A. |
The Current System and Its Alternatives |
| B. |
The Merits and Demerits of the FPTP System |
| (i) |
Simplicity |
| (ii) |
Stability |
| (iii) |
Representativeness |
| C. |
Merits and Demerits of Proportional Representation |
| (i) |
Simplicity |
| (ii) |
Stability |
| (iii) |
Representativeness |
| D. |
The List System in Germany |
| E. |
Recommendations of Past Reports |
| (i) |
Report of the ECI on the fifth General Elections in India (1971-72) |
| (ii) |
Chief Election Commissioner Shakdher's proposal |
| (iii) |
170th Report of the Law Commission |
| F. |
Recommendations |
| Chapter V |
Anti Defection Law in India |
| A. |
Introduction |
| B. |
Exceptions to the Law on Defection |
| C. |
Procedure under Paragraph 6 of the Tenth Schedule |
| (i) |
The role of the Speaker in deciding petitions under the Tenth Schedule |
| (ii) |
History of reform proposals |
| D. |
Recommendation |
| Chapter VI |
Strengthening the Office of the Election Commission of India |
| A. |
Constitutional Protection of all the Members of the ECI |
| B. |
Appointment of the Election Commissioners and the CEC |
| (i) |
Appointment process |
| (ii) |
Comparative practices |
| (iii) |
Recommendations |
| C. |
Permanent, Independent Secretariat of the ECI |
|
Recommendation |
| Chapter VII |
Paid News and Political Advertising |
| A. |
Introduction |
| B. |
Paid News and Political Advertising: Defining The Phenomena |
| C. |
Issues and Problems with Paid News and Political Advertising |
| D. |
Legal Framework |
| (i) |
Restrictions on election expenses |
|
Disqualification |
|
Illegal payments in connection with an election |
| (ii) |
Disclosure provisions |
| (iii) |
Pre-certification of political advertisements |
| (iv) |
Requirement of maintaining distinction between news and advertisement |
| (v) |
Media Certification and Monitoring Committee |
| (vi) |
Inclusion of notional expenditure of paid news into the election expenses |
| (vii) |
Is paid news "undue influence"? |
| E. |
Recommendations by Other Studies on Paid News |
| (i) |
Mandatory disclaimer and separation of editorial and management |
| (ii) |
Amendment to the RPA |
| (iii) |
Guidelines for determining paid news |
|
Election Commission of Guidelines |
|
Standing Committee on Information Technology (2012-13) |
|
Recommendations by TRAI |
| F. |
Constitutional Issues: Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(2) |
|
Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression [Article 19(1)(a)] |
| G. |
A Comparative Perspective |
| (i) |
The United Kingdom |
| (ii) |
Australia |
| (iii) |
Canada |
| (iv) |
ECHR standards on permissibility of such restrictions |
| (v) |
US standards on permissibility of restrictions |
| H. |
Recommendations |
| (i) |
Definitions |
| (ii) |
Electoral offence |
| (iii) |
Corrupt practice |
| (iv) |
Disclosure for political advertisements |
| Chapter VIII |
Opinion Polls |
| A. |
Regulation of Opinion Polls in Indi.- A Background |
| (i) |
Development of opinion polls in India |
| (ii) |
1998 opinion poll guidelines |
| (iii) |
Challenge to the guidelines of the ECI |
| (iv) |
Important developments in 2004 |
| (v) |
Amendments to RPA, 195.- Insertion of Sections 126A and 126B |
| (vi) |
Opinion polls and self-regulatory standards |
| (vii) |
Current law and late Mr. Goolam E. Vahanvati's view on opinion polls |
| B. |
Issues with Current Regulations |
| (i) |
Effects on the purity of the electoral process |
| (ii) |
Potential of opinion polls to influence voters |
| (iii) |
Independence of polling agencies |
| (iv) |
Issue of robustness in findings |
| C. |
Regulation in Other Countries |
| (i) |
United Kingdom |
| (ii) |
Canada |
| (iii) |
France |
| (iv) |
Singapore |
| D. |
Opinion Poll.- A Case for Regulation, and Not Outright Ban |
| E. |
Approach to Amendments |
| F. |
Recommendations |
| (i) |
Expand scope of Section 126 of the RPA, 1951 |
| (ii) |
Add specific sections on disclosures related to opinion polls |
| Chapter IX |
Compulsory Voting |
|
Compulsory Voting |
| A. |
Compulsory Voting in India: History and Context |
| B. |
Evaluating the Arguments For and Against Compulsory Voting |
| (i) |
Participation: Does compulsory voting increase voter turnouts and improve the quality of political engagement? |
|
Increase in voter turnouts |
|
Improvement in the quality of political participation and debate |
| (ii) |
Equality: Does compulsory voting ensure the enfranchisement of the weaker classes? |
| (iii) |
Democracy: Does compulsory voting increase the 'representativeness' of the government or is it constitutionally untenable? |
| (iv) |
Legitimacy: Does compulsory voting increase the legitimacy of elected governments? |
| (v) |
Other arguments for and against compulsory voting |
| C. |
Compulsory Voting: A Comparative Perspective |
| D. |
Recommendation |
| Chapter X |
Election Petitions |
| A. |
History |
| B. |
Formalistic Nature of the Current Procedure of Filing a Petition |
| C. |
Appeal Procedure |
| D. |
Drawbacks in the Present System |
| E. |
Comparative Practices |
| F. |
Recommendations |
| (i) |
Section 79 |
| (ii) |
Section 80A |
| (iii) |
Section 82 |
| (iv) |
Section 86 |
| (v) |
Section 98 |
| (vi) |
Inserting a new Section 98A |
| (vii) to (xi) |
Sections 99 to 112 |
| (xii),(xiii) |
Section 116A,B |
| (xiv),(xv) |
Sections 117,119 |
| Chapter XI |
NOTA and the Right to Reject |
| A. |
History and Context Leading Up to the Supreme Court's Decision in the NOTA Case |
| B. |
Comparative Practices |
| C. |
Recommendations |
| Chapter XII |
Right to Recall |
| A. |
History and Context |
| B. |
Analysing the Arguments For and Against the RTR |
| C. |
Comparative Practices |
| Chapter XIII |
Totaliser for Counting of Votes |
|
Totaliser for Counting of Votes |
|
Recommendation |
| Chapter XIV |
Restriction on Government Sponsored Advertisements |
|
Restriction on Government Sponsored Advertisements |
|
Recommendation |
| Chapter XV |
Restriction on the number of seats from which a candidate may contest |
|
Restriction on the number of seats from which a candidate may contest |
|
Recommendation |
| Chapter XVI |
Independent Candidates |
| A. |
Previous Suggestions |
| B. |
Comparative Practices |
| C. |
Recommendations |
| Chapter XVII |
Preparation and use of Common Electoral Rolls |
|
Preparation and use of Common Electoral Rolls |
| Chapter XVIII |
Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations |
|
Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations |
|
Regulation of Political Parties and Inner Party Democracy |
|
Proportional Representation |
|
Anti Defection Law in India |
|
Strengthening the office of the Election Commission of India |
|
Paid News and Political Advertisements |
|
Opinion Polls |
|
Compulsory Voting |
|
Election Petitions |
|
NOTA and the Right to Reject |
|
Totaliser for Counting of Votes |
|
Restriction on Government Sponsored Advertisements |
|
Restriction on the Number of Seats from which a Candidate May Contest |
|
Independent Candidates |
|
Preparation and Use of Common Electoral Rolls |
| Annexure |
Amendments to the representation of the people act, 1951 |
| Part I |
Preliminary |
|
Chapter I: Qualifications for Membership of Parliament |
|
Interpretation |
| Part II |
Qualifications and Disqualifications |
|
Qualifications for membership of the House of the People |
|
Qualifications for membership of a Legislative Assembly |
|
Chapter III: Disqualifications for Membership of Parliament and State Legislatures |
|
Disqualification for failure to lodge account of election expenses and contribution reports |
| Part IVA |
Registration of Political Parties |
| Part IVB |
Regulation of Electoral Trusts |
| Part IVC |
Regulation of Political Parties |
| Part V |
Conduct of Elections |
| Chapter I |
Nomination of Candidates |
| Chapter VIII |
Election Expenses and Maintenance of Accounts |
| Part VI |
Disputes Regarding Elections |
|
Chapter I: Interpretation |
|
Interpretation |
|
Chapter II: Presentation of Election Petitions to Election Commission |
|
Presentation of Election Petitions to Election Commission |
|
Chapter III: Trial of Election Petitions |
|
Trial of Election Petitions |
|
Chapter IV: Withdrawal and Abatement of Election Petitions |
|
Withdrawal and Abatement of Election Petitions |
|
Chapter V: Costs and Security for Costs |
|
Costs and Security for Costs |
| Part VII |
Corrupt Practices and Electoral Offences |
|
Chapter I: Corrupt Practices |
|
Corrupt Practices |
|
Chapter III: Electoral Offences |
|
Electoral Offences |
| Part V |
Counting of Votes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies |
|
Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 |
|
Amendments to the Constitution of India, 1950 |
| Chapter 1 |
Preliminary |
|
Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners |
|
Amendments to the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013) |
|
Amendments to the Income Tax Act, 1961(43 of 1961) |
