Supreme Court seeks Centre's reply on disclosing income source
The petitioner said the SC had earlier directed that candidates should disclose their income.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the response of the Centre and the Election Commission on a PIL seeking a direction that candidates contesting elections must not only disclose their income but also the source.
A bench of Justices J. Chelameswar and A.M. Sapre issued notice on the petition filed by Lok Prahari, NGO that the present practice of candidates filing an affidavit disclosing their income must also give information about the source of income of the candidate and his/her spouse and dependants.
The petitioner said the SC had earlier directed that candidates should disclose their income with a view to maintaining purity in elections and in accordance with the intentions of the founding fathers of the Constitution. It said this information should include details regarding the source of income.
Life sentences to run concurrently
In a ruling which will benefit a large number of accused, the Supreme Court on Tuesday held that trial court or the High Court cannot award consecutive life sentences for multiple murders and such sentences should run only concurrently.
A Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justices Ibrahim Kalifulla, A.K. Sikri, S.A. Bobde and R. Banumathi said, “We hold that while multiple sentences for imprisonment for life can be awarded for multiple murders or other offences punishable with imprisonment for life, the life sentences so awarded cannot be directed to run consecutively.
“Such sentences would, however, be super imposed over each other so that any remission or commutation granted by the competent authority in one does not ipso facto result in remission of the sentence awarded to the prisoner for the other.”
The judgement came on a batch of petitions including the one filed by A. Muthuramalingam on award of sentence in a case and whether they would run concurrently or consecutively.