The recommendation comes months after an internal note of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Corruption asked the Law Ministry to look into aspects where "executive instructions" of the Election Commission were required to be given statutory shape, stirring a political controversy.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, in its latest report on Demands for Grants of the Law Ministry, said the Model Code of Conduct is a voluntary agreement among the parties for regulating the conduct of political parties and its members during elections to assemblies and Parliament.
"Its legal status, is a grey area...The committee feels that the Code, which was voluntary in nature at one time has not remained so after insertion of para 16 A in the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, which authorises the Election Commission to suspend or withdraw the recognition of political parties in case of violation of Code of Conduct. Besides, some paras in the code attract penal provisions in other laws," the report said.
The report said that the power of cancellation of registration of a political party is "substantive in nature", therefore, it should not be regulated or provided for under an "order" of the Commission.
"It should either be a part of the Representation of People Act, 1951 or the rules framed there under," panel recommended.
It also suggested that the scope of Article 324 also needs to be examined as "many of the aspects which should have been covered under the rules framed under R P Act are presently covered under instructions issued under Article 324 of the Constitution by the Commission."
In February this year, a Department of Personnel and Training note for the GoM had suggested that the Legislative Department (of the Law Ministry) may look into the aspects where "executive instructions" of the EC were required to be given statutory shape.
It noted that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who also heads the GoM, was of the view that Model Code of Conduct was one of the biggest excuses to stall the development projects, and thus agreed with the request of the Law Minister to flag the issue and its inclusion in the agenda papers.
