Model Code of Conduct

Also called: MCC · Topic: Elections and the Electoral System · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 5 "Universal Franchise and India's Electoral System"; Class 9, Ch 7 "Elections"; Class 11, Ch 3 "Election and Representation"

Meaning

The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is a set of rules made by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for parties, candidates and the government in power. It sets out how they may campaign and how the government must behave, from the day the election schedule is announced until the results are declared.

It matters because it is the main check on a ruling party using public money, officials and government power for its own campaign. It is also the main way to keep campaigns free of hate and bribery while voting is under way.

Explanation

How it works: when it starts and when it ends

• Start: the ECI issues a press note announcing the election schedule. The MCC starts at once, on that same day.
• It does not wait for the notification (the formal legal order that starts the election). The President issues the notification for the Lok Sabha (s.14 RPA, 1951) and the Governor for a state assembly (s.15).

• Union of India v. Harbans Singh Jalal (Supreme Court, 2001): the Court accepted that the MCC applies from the date of announcement, not only from notification.

• End: the MCC stays in force until the results are declared.

• Where it sits in the election timeline (s.30 RPA, 1951):

#	Stage	Time rule
1	ECI announces the schedule. The MCC begins.	Announcement day
2	Notification by the President or Governor	For a general election, not earlier than 6 months before the House's term ends
3	Last date for nominations	7th day after notification
4	Scrutiny of nominations	The next day
5	Last date for withdrawal	2nd day after scrutiny
6	Poll	At least 14 days after the last date for withdrawal
7	Results. The MCC ends.	Counting day

Its eight parts

1. General conduct: - no activity that deepens hatred between castes, communities or religions; - no appeal to caste or religious feeling for votes; - no use of places of worship for campaigning; - criticism of rivals must be about their policies, not their private lives.

2. Meetings: the party tells the police the place and time in advance, so that the police can keep order.

3. Processions: the route and timing are planned in advance. Rival processions must not clash.
4. Polling day: party workers wear identity badges. No liquor is given out. Party camps near booths are kept simple.
5. Polling booths: only voters and people with a valid ECI pass may enter.
6. Observers: the ECI sends observers (senior officers who watch the election). Candidates can report problems to them.

7. Party in power: the ruling party at the Centre or in the state must not use its office for its campaign. - It cannot announce new schemes, financial grants or projects, or lay foundation stones. - It cannot misuse official vehicles, government guest houses, aircraft, or advertising paid for with public money. - Transfers and postings of officials linked to the election are restricted. - Ministers cannot mix official tours with election work [2].

8. Election manifestos (added in 2014): a manifesto must not go against the ideals of the Constitution. Its promises should explain how they will be paid for [3].

• NCERT examples of breaches (Class 8 complaint pictures): abusive language against rivals, government officials campaigning, and bundles of ₹500 notes given to voters. Class 9 uses the case study of a candidate, Ishani, to ask which campaign acts are fair.

Limits: a code, not a law

• The MCC is not a statute (a law passed by Parliament). It is not in the Constitution or the RPA. Breaking the code does not, on its own, lead to a jail term [3].
• How it is still enforced:
• Article 324: the ECI has the power of "superintendence, direction and control" of elections. Under this power it can:
  • issue warnings and censures;
  • ban a leader from campaigning for some hours or days.
• Para 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968: the ECI can suspend or withdraw a party's recognition if the party breaks the MCC.

• Penal laws that cover the same acts: many MCC rules are also found in the RPA 1951, the old IPC (now BNS 2023) and the CrPC (now BNSS 2023). These laws can be used for criminal action [3].

• Tools for enforcement:

• cVIGIL (launched in 2018) is an ECI mobile app on which any citizen can report breaches of the MCC or of spending rules [4].
  • It accepts only live, geotagged photos or videos (pictures taken inside the app, with the location added automatically). This makes the evidence hard to fake [4].
  • The user has 5 minutes to upload after taking the picture [4].
  • The complaint goes to the district control room and then to a flying squad. Action has a 100-minute target [4].
• Suvidha is an ECI portal where parties and candidates apply online for permission to hold rallies and meetings and to use vehicles (NCERT Class 9).

In the Constitution and practice

• Legal base: the code has no article of its own. It rests on the ECI's power under Article 324, backed by Para 16A of the Symbols Order, 1968.
• How it grew:
• 1960: it began in the Kerala assembly election. It was a set of instructions to parties about meetings, speeches and slogans, and parties followed it voluntarily [2].
• 1962: the code was sent to recognised parties for the Lok Sabha general election. Parties largely followed it, and it continued in later elections [2].
• 1979: a section on the "party in power" was added. For example, ministers may not mix official visits with campaigning or use official machinery for the campaign [2].
• 1991 onwards: the code has been strictly enforced, mainly because of T.N. Seshan (Chief Election Commissioner, 1990–1996). He made officials and politicians obey it.

• 2013–14: in S. Subramaniam Balaji v. State of Tamil Nadu (2013), a case about freebies, the Supreme Court directed the ECI to frame guidelines on election manifestos. These guidelines were added to the MCC for the 2014 general election [3].

• Key cases:

• Union of India v. Harbans Singh Jalal (2001): the MCC applies from the announcement of the schedule.

• S. Subramaniam Balaji (2013): led to the manifesto part of the MCC.

• Reform push: in 2013, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice recommended making the MCC legally binding by putting it into the RPA 1951 [3]. The ECI opposed this, because court cases would delay action and elections finish within weeks.

• In practice (2024 Lok Sabha election): cVIGIL received more than 4.24 lakh complaints. 99.9% were disposed of, and about 89% were settled within 100 minutes [5].

Don't confuse with

• Corrupt practice (s.123 RPA, 1951): this is part of the law. Examples are bribery and appeals on grounds of religion or caste. If it is proved in an election petition (a case filed in the High Court), the election is set aside (cancelled) and the candidate can be disqualified for up to 6 years. A breach of the MCC alone does not cancel an election.
• Electoral offence (ss.125–136 RPA; BNS ss.169–177): a crime tried in an ordinary criminal court, punished with a fine or jail. The MCC itself carries no jail term. Only the laws that cover the same acts do.
• Silence period (s.126 RPA): a legal ban on public meetings and on showing election matter on TV and similar media in the 48 hours before the poll ends. Breaking it can mean up to 2 years in jail. The MCC is a non-statutory code that covers the whole period from announcement to results.
• Notification (s.14 / s.15 RPA): the formal legal start of the election, issued by the President or Governor. The MCC starts earlier, on the day the ECI announces the schedule.

Prelims Hooks

• Trap: the MCC is not in the Constitution or the RPA 1951. The ECI enforces it through Article 324 and Para 16A of the Symbols Order, 1968 (the power to suspend or withdraw a party's recognition).
• Timeline: Kerala 1960, then the Lok Sabha election in 1962, the "party in power" section in 1979, strict enforcement from 1991 (T.N. Seshan), and the manifesto part in 2014 after S. Subramaniam Balaji (2013) [2] [3].
• Duration: from the announcement of the schedule until the declaration of results, not from notification. This was accepted in Harbans Singh Jalal (2001).
• Party in power: no new schemes, grants, projects or foundation stones, no misuse of official vehicles, aircraft or public-funded advertising, and limits on transfers [2].
• cVIGIL (2018): live geotagged photos or videos, a 5-minute upload window and a 100-minute action target [4]. In 2024 it received more than 4.24 lakh complaints, and about 89% were settled within 100 minutes [5].
• 2013 Standing Committee recommended putting the MCC into the RPA 1951. The ECI opposed this [3].

Mains Points

• Should the MCC become law?
• For (2013 Standing Committee): legal backing would bring certainty and real penalties [3].

• Against (ECI): court cases take years, but an election lasts only weeks. A fast moral and administrative code works better, and most serious breaches are already crimes under the RPA and BNS.

• Long MCC periods and governance:

• A multi-phase poll can freeze new schemes and transfers for two or more months.
• This feeds the "policy paralysis" argument for simultaneous elections.

• On the other side, the MCC is the main check on a ruling party using public money and officials for its campaign.

• Enforcement gaps and reforms:

• Gaps: the ECI's penalties (short campaign bans, censures) are seen as weak. The ECI has been accused of acting unevenly against leaders of different parties. Social media and paid content fall outside s.126, which covers only TV and similar media.
• Reforms: fixed time limits for deciding complaints, firm use of Para 16A, and extending the silence-period rules to digital media.
• Citizen-led enforcement through apps like cVIGIL (89% of 2024 complaints settled within 100 minutes [5]) is a good GS-II example of technology in electoral governance.

Related concepts

• Security deposit
• cVIGIL
• Corrupt practices
• Electoral offences
• Silence period
• Opinion poll
• Exit poll

Read more

• Schedule, nomination and campaign: the Model Code of Conduct