543. Furnishing of certain information essential for candidates.
(1)A candidate shall, apart from any information which he is required to furnish in his nomination papers delivered under the Act or the rules made thereunder, also furnish information on affidavit on the following aspects in relation to his/her candidature -(a)whether he is convicted or acquitted or discharged of any criminal offence in the past, if any, whether he is punished with imprisonment or fine;(b)whether the candidate is accused in any pending case, or of any offence punishable with imprisonment for more than six months, and in which a charge has been framed or cognizance has been taken by a competent court of law prior to six months of filing of nominations, and if so, the details thereof,(c)the assets (including movable, immovable and bank balances, etc.) of a candidate, and of his/her spouse and that of his/her dependents,(d)the liabilities, if any, particularly whether there are any overdues of any public financial institution or Government dues, and(e)the educational qualifications of the candidate.(2)In case of non-furnishing of the affidavit by any candidate, the nomination of the candidate shall be liable to rejection by the Returning Officer at the time of scrutiny of nominations for such non-furnishing of the affidavit.(3)The information so furnished by each candidate in the affidavit referred in sub section (1) shall be disseminated by the respective Returning Officer by displaying a copy of the affidavit on the notice board of his office and also by making copies thereof available freely and liberally to the representatives of the print and electronic media and to any other candidate or person on deposit of fee as prescribed by the State Election Commission.(4)If any rival candidate furnishes information to the contrary by means of a duly sworn affidavit, then such affidavit of the rival candidate shall also be disseminated along with the affidavit of the candidate concerned in the manner directed above.
