Need to amend RPA

Currently, there is no provision in RPA to deal with the paid news. However, the ECI has resorted to Section 10 of the RPA which deals with misreporting of funds and disqualified elected candidates in recent past. However, in absence of a well-defined scope the EC had face legal hurdles. Hence, it is appropriate to amend RPA as recommended by the Law Commission of India, that is including “paid news” in electoral offences with a minimum two-year jail term for publishing or abetting the publishing of paid news.