In India, the Supreme Court said on Friday (February 16) that all the candidates contesting the election must disclose their own sources of income, including their wife and children. In the historic judgment, the bench, under the chairmanship of Justice J Chelameswar, said that candidates should disclose the source of their income, including the income of the wife and children, while filing nomination for the election.

The Supreme Court, while hearing the petition filed by the NGO, 'Lok Prahari', passed this verdict. This decision of the Supreme Court is being considered as a major step towards election reforms.

The Supreme Court said that this decision will be applicable to all elections. This decision of the Supreme Court is significant before assembly elections in many states in 2018 and before the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. By this time the affidavit was filed in the election, the candidate had to give details of movable and immovable property of his spouse and dependents. But the candidates did not have to disclose the source of income. Now after the Supreme Court's decision, the candidates will have to tell the source of income also.

NGO Lok Prahari filed a petition in the Supreme Court saying that the Supreme Court should order the government and the Election Commission that during the nomination, the candidate should disclose the source of income of himself and his family.

In April last year, the central government had said in the Supreme Court about the election reforms in their affidavit that The Central Government is ready on this proposal that while filing the form for election, the candidate should make public the information about the source of income of himself, his life partner and dependents. The Center then said that after considerable consideration, he is ready to make the necessary changes in the rules on this issue.

Earlier, during the hearing of this case, the Supreme Court raised the question of 500 times the increase in the property of MPs and MLAs. The Supreme Court had asked that the public representatives should also tell how their income and property grew so rapidly, did from which business, then also raises the question that how can any MP and MLA business do?

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