The main legal point established in the judgment is the absence of a legal requirement for a minimum educational qualification for candidates contesting elections, despite the importance of education for elected representatives.

Nishita Mhatre, J.

This Public Interest Litigation has been filed by an advocate of this Court contending that a writ of mandamus should be issued directing the respondents i.e. the Union of India and the State of West Bengal to adopt necessary measures requiring a candidate contesting the elections to the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha, Corporation, municipalities and panchayats to have a minimum academic qualification. A prayer is also made for debarring under trials and convicts from contesting the elections.

2. The learned Advocate representing the petitioner urged that only a person with a minimum educational qualification should be eligible to contest an election. This is because once the candidate is elected as a representative of the people, one of the tasks he/she is required to discharge is the onerous responsibility of framing laws which govern the electorate and others in the society. He submitted that it is humiliating for a voter to find that persons who are elected to these bodies and are representing a large section of society are not even literate in some instances. Furthermore, according to the learned Advocate there is no restriction on persons facing a criminal trial from contesting elections nor is there any ban on those who have been convicted from standing for elections. He argued that such persons should not be permitted to muddy the purity of elections.

3. The right to vote is a Constitutional right in a democracy, such as ours. Adult suffrage is a basic tenet of our constitution, embodied in Article 326. The right to vote is not recognized as a fundamental right but is a right recognized under the constitution and is governed by the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (hereafter referred to as the Act of 1951) which came on to the statute book on 17th July, 1951.

4. Part II of the Act of 1951 prescribes the qualifications and the disqualifications for membership of Parliament and State Legislatures. The qualifications stipulated do not mandate a minimum educational qualification.

5. The disqualifications from membership of parliament and State Legislatures are contained in Chapter III of the Act of 1951. Some of these disqualifications are for conviction for certain offences including heinous crimes, corrupt practices, dismissal of a government servant for corruption or disloyalty. A person who enters into contracts in the course of his trade or business with the appropriate government for supply of goods or for execution of any work undertaken by the government is also not qualified for being elected. Similarly, where a person has held office in a government company is not entitled to contest any election. Furthermore, a person who has not lodged the account of election expenses can also be disqualified by the Election Commission. However there is no bar for an under-trial from contesting elections.

6. A person who is' nominated for contesting an election is required to submit various details which are enumerated in sections 33A and 33B.

7. A cursory glance at all the above mentioned provisions of the Act of 1951 indicates that not one of them requires a minimum educational qualification for contesting an election to either the parliament or the assembly. The candidate is required to furnish details as to whether he is accused of any offence punishable with imprisonment for 2 years or more in a pending case in which a charge has been framed against him by a competent Court. Details of a conviction for any offence where the sentence is more than one year of imprisonment are also to be provided. Unfortunately, however, there is no indication that the candidate has to furnish his educational qualifications under the provisions of the Act of 1951.

8. In the year 2002 the Supreme Court considered whether the voters had a right to know the antecedents, including the criminal past, of a candidate who aspires to be a member of the Parliament or the Legislative Assembly. In the case of