New Delhi: On Friday, in a major development ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Supreme Court asked the Election Commission to make it mandatory for the candidates contesting polls to declare their criminal antecedents in the nomination paper. The apex court has also sought the reply of the poll panel within a week regarding the implementation of its September 2018 order, which said that candidates contesting polls and the political parties should repeatedly advertise their criminal antecedents in print and electronic media after filing nomination papers.

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Here it is to be noted that last year, the poll panel made it compulsory for candidates to advertise their criminal antecedents in TV and newspapers at least three times during electioneering in line with the Supreme Court's order. The EC had also made it mandatory for the political parties to give publicity to the criminal records of candidates fielded by them. According to the order, if a party fails to comply with the order, their nomination could be withdrawn or suspended.

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As per the direction, the election watchdog asked the candidates to fill up an amended form (number 26) and inform parties about their antecedents such as cases in which they have been convicted and cases pending against them. The EC also asked the political parties to mention the information about the candidates on their websites.