The EC on Sunday, December 17, proposed that a committee be set up to review and modify Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act (R P Act), which bars campaigning and display of election matter through the electronic media during 48 hours prior to polling.
The decision is said to have stemmed from the EC's recognition that this piece of law was not in sync with the changing times and advances in communication technology.
The proposed committee will have representation from EC, I&B ministry, the ministry of law & justice, ministry of electronics & information technology, National Broadcasters Association and Press Council of India.
It will "examine these provisions in the prevailing context of communication technologies and suggest required changes so that the matter can be taken up with all stakeholders including political parties and media houses for their views and to recommend appropriate modifications in law and the Commission's instructions," the EC said in its order.
Stating that there would always be a situation in multi-phase polls where Section 126 would apply in some poll-going areas while campaigning continues in other areas, the EC said the legal opinion tendered to it was that the increasing changes in technology of communication make it necessary that administration and preferably the Law Commission should have another look at Section 126 and "clarify its limits".
It also cited its order issued during Bihar polls on 11/10/2015, clarifying that the Section was applicable only in poll-going areas. The commission referred to the opinion projected in the media that the law needed to be revisited in the "considerably changed scenario with recent advancement in communication technology and rise of social media".
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Panel proposed for reviewing section 126 of RP Act
By IndianMandarins - 2017-12-18 10:29:26
The EC on Sunday, December 17, proposed that a committee be set up to review and modify Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act (R P Act), which bars campaigning and display of election matter through the electronic media during 48 hours prior to polling.
The decision is said to have stemmed from the EC's recognition that this piece of law was not in sync with the changing times and advances in communication technology.
The proposed committee will have representation from EC, I&B ministry, the ministry of law & justice, ministry of electronics & information technology, National Broadcasters Association and Press Council of India.
It will "examine these provisions in the prevailing context of communication technologies and suggest required changes so that the matter can be taken up with all stakeholders including political parties and media houses for their views and to recommend appropriate modifications in law and the Commission's instructions," the EC said in its order.
Stating that there would always be a situation in multi-phase polls where Section 126 would apply in some poll-going areas while campaigning continues in other areas, the EC said the legal opinion tendered to it was that the increasing changes in technology of communication make it necessary that administration and preferably the Law Commission should have another look at Section 126 and "clarify its limits".
It also cited its order issued during Bihar polls on 11/10/2015, clarifying that the Section was applicable only in poll-going areas. The commission referred to the opinion projected in the media that the law needed to be revisited in the "considerably changed scenario with recent advancement in communication technology and rise of social media".
