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REFERENCES  
  1. Policy not faulty; we don’t agree with CAG, says Jaiswal, August 17, 2012, available at http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3784936.ece (Last visited on September 21, 2012).
  2. Probing allegations against Deshmukh, Shinde: CBI in HC, June 6, 2012, available at http://www.indianexpress.com/news/probing-allegations-against-deshmukh-shinde-cbi-in-hc/958269/ (Last visited on September 21, 2012).
  3. CBI arrests former Telecom Minister A. Raja, February 2, 2011, available at http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1148712.ece (Last visited on September 21, 2012).
  4. 53rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, India, September 21-30, 2007, Recall of Parliamentarians, Data Paper No. 20, available at http://dev.cpahq.org/default.aspx?id=19794 (Last visited on September 21, 2012).
  5. Ibid.
  6. Anup Sahu, Recall the lawmakers who are lawbreakers, pg.5, EPW Vol. XLVI No. 17, April 23, 2011, available at http://www.epw.in/letters/recall-lawmakers-who-are-lawbreakers.html (Last visited on September 21, 2012).
  7. Ali Khan, A Theory Of Universal Democracy, pg. 68, 16 Wis. Int'l L.J. 61, available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1017325 (Last visited on October 15, 2012). [Here, the author explains that the ‘basic structure’ of universal democracy is essentially drawn from the concepts of the right to party platform and the right to recall. He says that the ‘right to party platform’ is the entitlement of a party to formulate its political agenda without any systemic constraints and argues that any restriction on the substantive content of a party platform would breach the concept of Universal Democracy. Right to recall, he believes, is the counterweight to the right to party platform in the sense that the fact that a party has its right to party platform cannot be used to deprive the people of their right to reject the party platform.
  8. Ibid, pg. 83.
  9. Ibid, pg. 69.
  10. Joel Levin & Banks McDowell, The Balance Theory of Contracts: Seeking Justice in Voluntary Obligations, 29 MCGILL L. J. 24, 53 (1983) as cited in Ibid, pg. 83.
  11. Sahu, supra note 10.
  12. Sahu, supra note 10.
  13. AIR 2000 SC 870 (The Supreme Court, in ¶7, opined that- "Corruption is opposed to democracy and social order, being not only anti-people, but also aimed and targeted at them. It affects the economy and destroys the cultural heritage. Unless nipped in the bud at the earliest, it is likely to cause turbulence shaking of the socio-economic political system in an otherwise healthy, wealthy, effective and vibrating society").
  14. Planning Commission of India, Decentralization & Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs,) pg 262, available at http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/mta/mta-9702/mta-ch10.pdf (Last visited on September 21, 2012) (Madhya Pradesh is quoted as the first state ever to have a recall provision under The Madhya Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1993).
  15. (Section 47 of the Chattishgrah Nagar Palika Act stipulates that "Every Mayor of a Corporation shall forthwith be deemed to have vacated his office if he is recalled through a secret ballot by a majority of more than half of the total number of voters of the corporation area casting the vote…". It also stipulates that the proposal for recall has to be moved by "not less than three-fourth of the total number of the elected Councillors." Additionally, it cannot be initiated "within a period of two years from the date on which such Mayor is elected and enters office," and "if half of the period of tenure of the Mayor elected in a by-election has not expired." The Act further provides that the process for recall of a mayor can be initiated "once in his whole term".)
  16. Devesh Kapur and Pratap Bhanu Mehta, The Indian Parliament as an Institution of Accountability, pg. 8-15, Democracy, Governance and Human Rights Programme Paper Number 23, January 2006, available at http://casi.ssc.upenn.edu/system/files/Indian+Parliament+-+DK,+PBM.pdf (Last visited on September 21, 2012).
  17. Verdict is in: voters recall leaders of three urban bodies they elected, supra note 7.
  18. Barnik Ghosh, Right to Recall and Reject, available at http://thecolloquium.net/colloquium/index.php?option=com_content&id=232%3Athe-right-to-recall-and-reject&Itemid=298 (Last visited on October 15, 2012).
  19. Recall of elected representatives bill (HC Bill 50), available at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2012-2013/0050/cbill_2012-20130050_en_1.htm (Last visited on October 15, 2012). Also, the progress of the said bill can be traced at: Recall of elected representatives bill, 2012-13: The Progress, http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2012-13/recallofelectedrepresentatives.html (Last visited on October 15, 2012).
  20. National Conference of State legislatures, Recall of State Officials, available at http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/recall-of-state-officials.aspx (Last visited on September 21, 2012).
  21. HM Government, Recall of MPs draft bill, December 2011, available at http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm82/8241/8241.pdf (Last visited on September 21, 2012).
  22. Charley Coleman and Oonagh Gay, Recall Elections, pg. 14-16, Parliament and Constitution Centre Standard Note: SN/PC/05089, available at http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN05089 (Last visited on September 21, 2012) (The note summarises the entire recall process as envisaged under the draft recall bill.).
  23. Anne Twomey, Second thoughts – Recall elections for Members of Parliament, pg.12, Sydney Law School: Legal Studies Research Paper No. 11/55, September 2011, available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1922393 (Last visited on September 21, 2012).
  24. Recall of State Official, supra note 23. (It specifies the specific grounds for triggering a recall in those eight states viz. Alaska, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington.)
  25. Recall of MPs draft bill, supra note 24, pg. 7 (It provides that a recall petition will only be triggered where: (i) An MP is convicted in the United Kingdom of an offence and receives a custodial sentence of 12 months or less, or, (ii) The House of Commons resolves that an MP should face recall.)
  26. Ibid, pg. 8.
  27. See Recall of State Official, supra note 17. (It specifies the specific signature requirements in various States of US.) See also, Recall of MPs draft bill, supra note 18, pg. 8 (It provides that in UK, at least 10% of those on the electoral register for the constituency will have to sign the petition for a by-election to ensue thereafter.)
  28. See generally, The Council of State Governments, State Recall Provisions: Applicability to State Officials and Petition Circulation, February, 2010, available at http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/drupal/system/files/Table_6.19.pdf (It specifies the time within which the minimum threshold of signatures have to be obtained for various States.) See also, Recall of MPs draft bill, supra note 18, pg. 8 (It proposes that the recall petition will be opened two weeks after receipt of the Speaker’s notice and the petition will be available for signature for eight weeks.).
  29. Anne Twomey, supra note 26, pg. 16.
  30. Charley Coleman and Oonagh Gay, supra note 25, pg. 14.
  31. Section 47 of the Chattishgrah Nagar Palika Act, supra note 18.
  32. [The process of recall in this case started when three-fourth of the elected members in the concerned Panchayats wrote to the district collectors and demanded recall. On the basis of such request, the district collector undertook a thorough investigation and prepared a report, which was sent to the Chhattisgarh Government. The said government, after considering the merits of such demand of recall, had recommended the state election commission to conduct the by-elections wherein new presidents of local bodies were elected.]
  33. [As per Section 47 of the Chattishgrah Nagar Palika Act, the recall has to be moved by not less than three-fourth of the total number of the elected Councillors. It seems to be a matter of concern that the Section has allowed the elected representatives to initiate a recall against a fellow representative, which has the potential of being misused. The Section gives abundant scope to initiate recall against representatives belonging to rival parties, or on the basis of personal dislike. However, the fact that the threshold provided is three-fourth of total number of representatives seems to be of some reliefs. Again, it is a different issue altogether that whether the representatives would engage in corrupt and unethical practices just to reach the minimum threshold to oust out a representative whom they do not want to be in power, or say, a representative who does not have equivalent monetary support or muscle-power.]
  34. [Section 47 of the Chattishgrah Nagar Palika Act fixes the requirement at ‘more than half of the total number of votes’. There is no rationale which is provided for fixing the cap of the requisite votes at the fifty percent. It puts forth a question whether it could again become a subject matter of abuse considering that the literacy level in the India is very low and people can easily be influenced to vote for or against a person to be recalled. This is very well depicted by the fact that the populace of India, especially people in rural areas, vote on the basis of the party symbol rather than on more important considerations such as the party agenda, credentials of the candidates etc. and the same is misused by the political parties to meet their selfish ends.]
  35. [Section 47 of the Chattishgrah Nagar Palika Act provides that a recall cannot be initiated within a two years of the election of a candidate. This can have both positive as well as negative implications. On one hand, it could serve as a security of tenure for the representative and may help pursue long-term plans in the interests of the society. On the other hand, it might as well leave the people remediless when the representative starts dishonouring his obligations of the party platform and leaves no option open for a common man but to succumb to the excesses of such representative.]
  36. [Section 47 of the Chattishgrah Nagar Palika Act explicitly says that a recall cannot be brought against a representative more than once. The issue here is that what happens when a recall of a representative of a powerful party is prevented by the enormous muscle-power or money it has. Should the electorate have absolutely no second option to pressurise the other elected representatives to initiate a second recall against a representative whom they do not want to be in power now.]
  37. Vinod Bhanu, Right to Recall Legislators: The Chhattisgarh Experiment, pg.16, EPW Vol.- XLIII No. 40, October 4, 2008, available at http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/2008_43/40/Right_to_Recall_Legislators_The_Chhattisgarh_Experiment.pdf (Last visited on September 22, 2012).
  38. Khan, supra note 11, pg. 83.
  39. Dr. Jeet Singh Mann, Empowering Voters to Recall People's Elected Representatives for Non-Perfomance, available at http://airwebworld.com/articles/index.php?article=1011 (Last visited on September 22, 2012).
  40. Press note, Election Commission of India, Meeting of a delegation of civil society members with the Commission regarding electoral reforms, Press note no. ECI/PN/61/2011, November 1, 2011, available at http://eci.nic.in/eci_main1/current/PN1112011C.pdf (Last visited on September 22, 2012).
  41. [The right to elect has been recognised as a statutory right in a series of cases such as N.P. Ponnuswami v. Returning Officer, Namakkal constituency [1952]1SCR218, Jagan Nath v. Jaswant Singh A.L.R. 1954 SC 210, Jyoti Basu Vs. Debi Ghosal AIR1982SC983 etc. The Hon. Supreme Court in Jyoti Basu Case (supra), in ¶ 9, unambiguously observed that- “A right to elect, fundamental though it is to democracy, is, anomalously enough, neither a fundamental right nor a Common Law Right. It is pure and simple, a statutory right.” Subsequently, in People's Union for civil Liberties (PUCL) Vs. Union of India (UOI) AIR2003SC2363, the Hon. Supreme Court, in ¶ 101, opined that- “Right to vote is a Constitutional right though not a fundamental right but right to make choice by means of ballot is part of freedom of expression.”]
  42. Vinod Bhanu, supra note 40, pg. 16.
  43. R Jagannathan, Right to recall is cart before horse: We need e-voting first, October 18, 2011, available at http://www.firstpost.com/politics/right-to-recall-is-cart-before-horse-we-need-e-voting-first-110571.html (Last visited on September 22, 2012).
  44. Data paper no. 8, supra note 7.
  45. Khan, supra note 11, pg. 83.
  46. R. Jagannathan, supra note 46.
  47. Ibid.
  48. Dr. Jeet Singh Mann, supra note 42.
  49. George Williams, Debate the recall, but safeguard the system, December 15, 2009, available at http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/debate-the-recall-but-safeguard-the-system-20091214-ks6k.html#ixzz26wesi29W (Last visited on September 23, 2012).
  50. Right to recall will destabilize country: CEC, October 17, 2011, available at http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-10-17/india/30289365_1_s-y-quraishi-candidates-team-anna (Last visited on September 23, 2012).
  51. Rajendra Prasad, Rethinking the two faces of Svaraja: Pre-independence and Post independence, pg. 236, available at http://unipune.ac.in/snc/cssh/ipq/english/IPQ/26-30%20volumes/28-2/28-2-11.pdf (Last visited on September 23, 2012) (Here, Dr. Prasad emphatically asserts that it is the duty of the legislators to put the moral considerations on a higher pedestal than the any other considerations even if these moral considerations do not find the approval of one’s electorate.).
  52. Suhas Palshikar, Why the right to recall is flawed, September 14, 2011, available at http://www.indianexpress.com/news/why-the-right-to-recall-is-flawed/846143/0 (Last visited on September 23, 2012).
  53. Press note, supra note 43.
  54. Dr. Jeet Singh Mann, supra note 42.
  55. R. Jagannathan, supra note 46.
  56. Vinod Bhanu, Recall of Parliamentarians: A Prospective Accountability, pg. 20, EPW Vol.-XLII No. 52, December 29, 2007, available at http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/2007_42/52/Recall_of_Parliamentarians_A_Prospective_Accountability.pdf (Last visited on September 23, 2012).
  57. Suhas Palshikar, supra note 55.
  58. Vinod Bhanu, supra note 59, pg. 21.
  59. Beetham, David (2006): Parliament and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century –A Guide to Good Practice, Inter-Parliamentary Union, Switzerland, Geneva as cited in Ibid, pg. 22 (It reads- “There is a distinction between horizontal and vertical accountability. Horizontal accountability is effectuated by regulatory and other supervisory bodies which are composed of officials acting on behalf of the public. Vertical accountability is mandated by the public itself, through a variety of mechanisms, including elections, complaint procedures, legal re-dress, the activities of civil society organisations, watch-dog groups, etc. In the public sphere, it is typically a combination of both the horizontal and vertical that ensures effective accountability.”)
  60. AIR1993SC2042.
  61. AIR1998All80.
  62. Press note, supra note 43.
  63. See generally, Devil’s advocate ‘best current affairs programme’, Right to recall would create political instability, October 16, 2011, available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdV45EcrJOk (Here ex-Chief Election Commissioner SY Queraishi speaks about various electoral reforms demanded by the Anna Hazare group, including the right to reject as well as the right to recall. He gives a deep insight into the practical difficulties in introducing recall in India, owing to its huge size and complexity.)
  64. Ibid.
  65. [The term ‘social marketing’ essentially refers to the measures undertaken in order to channelize the behaviour of certain individuals or the society as a whole, in a specific manner which furthers an intended result. Thus, social marketing can be with respect to various spheres of life, say, public health, preserving environment, ensuring safety of women etc. In the present context, adopting ‘social marketing strategies’ would include publicizing the elections, what are the benefits of voting, the credentials of the candidate (primarily his educational background, assets, criminal record) so that the people who are going to elect their representatives make a more informed choice. Social marketing strategies, if successful, would refine the system and strengthen Indian democracy on an unprecedented level.]
  66. Press note, Election Commission of India, Workshop on maximization of Voters' participation in 5 election going States, Press note no. ECI/PN 16612011, December 14, 2011, available at http://eci.nic.in/eci_main1/current/PN14122011.pdf (Last visited on September 23, 2012).
  67. [The biggest problem in having a system of recall in India is the logistics, as the ex- Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi has correctly pointed out. A right to recall would further burden the already burdened Election commission. To overcome the logistical issues, the best way seems to be ‘Internet voting’. Internet voting would ensure that the people would not be required to go to various places to initiate the election petition, or say, to the polling-booth for voting for the ensuing by-election. Such a system would substantially cut the costs and efforts in having recall. Though internet voting might have the potential to be misused, however, coming up a system which links the identity of a person with the vote cast, say via entering a valid Unique Identification number in the website could help resolve the problem. If the opportunity cost of not having internet voting is seen, it is suggested that the possible abuses of the system of internet voting are overridden by various benefits it promises. Hence, Recall could be done via. Internet Voting. However, such a system would require basic computer literacy, therefore, it does not seem to be a very pragmatic idea in India as of today.]
 
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