Paid News: EC Moots 2-Yr Jail Term

In a bid to end poll-time corruption, the Election Commission has mooted making paid news an electoral offence punishable with two years in prison and also including it as a corrupt practice under the election law to enable disqualification of a candidate.

The commission has further proposed making bribery of voters a cognizable offence under the Indian Penal Code and placing a cap on the election expenditures of political parties. Currently only individual candidate expenses are capped.

The EC has in the background paper referred to Law Commission’s earlier recommendation to make paid news punishable with two years imprisonment and publication of news in exchange for consideration of money be considered “misconduct” under Section 123, RPA.

At present, Section 77, RPA, deals with poll expenses of candidates and leaves scope for nearly limitless party expenses. It says, “The expenditure incurred by leaders of a political party on account of travel by air or by any other means of transport for propagating programme of the political party shall not be deemed to be the expenditure in connection with the election incurred or authorized by a candidate of that political party or his election agent for the purposes of this sub-section.”

By: Vishal