NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would hear on November 19, a long pending PIL filed in 2017 by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and lawyer, Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, raising the question whether a politician can be denied the constitutional right to head a political party or association on the basis of conviction and being disqualified to vote.Before fixing the plea to be heard on November 19, a bench of the top court, headed by Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi termed the issue as an “interesting question”.The top court said, it would deliberate upon the question – should a constitutional court direct that irrespective of your right under Article 19, you (convicted politician) will not be entitled to form an association of political ideology only because you are not entitled to cast vote.The petitioner, Upadhyay, appearing in person, told the top court that a person disqualified from casting vote cannot distribute party tickets to the candidates. “This issue needs to be examined as it is a grey area. Several commissions, including the law commission, has emphasised on the need for not to allow the convicted to head a political party,” Upadhyay added.After hearing these submissions, the top court called the issue “worth consideration” and clarified that it had “something in mind” but required a detailed hearing.Upadhyay in his petition, said a person who cannot vote or contest can create a political party, even from jail, and political parties govern the entire country.He sought a direction from the top court to ban convicted persons from forming political parties and becoming their office bearers for the period they are disqualified.
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