Supreme Court fines political parties: Time for political cleanse?
Politics
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court held 9 political parties guilty of contempt, including BJP and Congress, and fined 8 for not publicly disclosing the criminal records of their 2020 Bihar Candidates in November.
The Congress, BJP and five more parties were fined INR 1 lakh each and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and Nationalist Congress Party were fined INR 5 lakh each.
469 candidates with criminal antecedents
In an order in February 2020, the Supreme Court asked the political parties to publicise a candidate's record within 48 hours of selection or at least two weeks before the first date of filing nomination papers. The parties are also obligated to explain why they’ve chosen a particular candidate.
As per EC, 51% of Bihar’s winning candidates have serious criminal charges against them like murder, kidnapping and rape and 469 candidates have criminal antecedents which were fielded by 10 political parties in the recently held Bihar Assembly polls.
EC to launch a dedicated app
"Despite repeated appeals, political parties refuse to wake up from deep slumber," said the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court warned the parties that in the future they are obligated to display the information on their websites. The court has also ordered the Election Commission to create a dedicated mobile app that helps voters access such information easily.
653 candidates have criminal cases against them
As per an analysis done by the Association of Democratic Reforms, out of 1195 candidates analyzed for the Bihar Assembly polls, 371 (31%) candidates have declared criminal cases against them and 282 (24%) have declared serious criminal cases against them.
Sanction from High Court needed for withdrawal of cases
In a step to control misusing of their powers, the court has also declared that any criminal cases against MLAs and MPs cannot be withdrawn by the state without approval from the respective High Courts.
Usually, the trial court takes a decision on a withdrawal application that is moved by the prosecuting agency. However, with the top court order, now the magistrates have been refrained from taking a decision on the withdrawal of prosecution.
17% jump in pending criminal cases
As per the report laid by Amicus Curiae Vijay Hansaria, criminal cases pending against sitting and former MPs and MLAs registered a 17% jump in less than two years. The decision of needing HC order came in after Hansaria cited proposals to withdraw cases against MLAs belonging to that state’s ruling party. The Supreme Court is also mulling over setting up of a special bench at the top court to monitor cases against politicians.
Appeal from Kerala government rejected
The high courts have been ordered to examine the withdrawal of cases against MP/MLAs since September 16, 2020, in reference to the Supreme Court judgment in the State of Kerala versus K Ajith.
In the mentioned case, the Kerala government had appealed to let it withdraw criminal cases against leaders belonging to the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. The appeal was rejected and guidelines for courts to decide applications for withdrawal were laid.
States looking for withdrawal of cases
As per reports, the Uttarakhand government similarly also moved an application for withdrawal of prosecution against sitting MLA Rajkumar Thukral, accused in a murder case registered in 2012.
As per reports, the Karnataka government in August 2020 issued instructions for the withdrawal of 61 cases against elected representatives of the state legislature.
Uttar Pradesh government also proposes to withdraw cases against some of its MLAs who were booked for giving inflammatory statements against a community during the Muzaffarnagar riots.
No transfer of trial court judges
The SC has directed the registrar generals of all high courts to submit a chart of trial court judges hearing criminal cases against elected lawmakers, cases pending and cases disposed off by them. Any judge hearing such cases cannot be transferred for at least two years and shall continue their post, except in case of retirement, where the high court will look into individual cases.
“The nation continues to wait and is losing patience. Cleansing the polluted stream of politics is obviously not one of the immediate pressing concerns of the legislative branch of the government,” said the Bench.
Should you buy a house?
Finance
With a global onset of bubbling house prices, India has seen a mixed reaction when it comes to the cost of a house.
Today we look at the fors and againsts from a financial perspective, and talk about whether you should buy a house now.
Bubbling real estate prices
The pros of buying a house
Asset: Buying a house allows one to build an asset, one which could be passed on to future generations
Status Symbol: Humans being social animals, consider big houses to be a status symbol. A bungalow in Bengaluru would catch more eyes than one in a lower-tier city
Tax Benefit: One can avail tax benefit on repayment of a house loan up to 2 lakh per year
Let us add another variable now…
Post-Covid scenario
Currently, the home loan interest rates are at a 15-year low, along with many states reducing stamp duty, and many flexible payment choices. With the not-so-surging demand in India, buyers seem to have great buying power in real estate. We might as well be looking at the lowest possible prices.
The cons of buying a house
EMIs: Salaried individuals mostly have a fixed income stream and home loan EMIs can be a real pain when funds are tight
Additional costs: Additional costs include property tax (paid every year), monthly maintenance charges and charges of maintaining the house itself
While many people look at property in general as a good investment scheme, let us look at the flip side.
Real estate as an investment
When including the additional costs associated with owning a house (mentioned in the last slide), real estate doesn't give you astonishingly high returns as compared to an ETF, MF or in some cases an FD as well! Don’t believe us? Look at the numbers:
Moreover, it really does boil down to - location, location, location. A house bought in South Mumbai or Central Delhi 20 years ago would have easily grown at an exponential rate by now.
Author’s opinion
A house has a lot of value attached to it. Financially, if you’re assured a fixed income, buying a property does seem to pay off in the long term. No landlord headaches, a sense of ownership and the status attached to one's property are a few of the other factors that can not be ignored. However, home loans along with a big down payment are a few of the biggest expenditures one has to make. So tread lightly.
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