NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Union federal government and Election Commission to file their much waited for responses to a PIL seeking debarment of candidates versus whom charges are framed in any abhorrent offense by a high court and diverted into a preaching on virtues of character and values.

If we need to make it through as a nation, each people have to have character and worths.

Look at the threat of corruption.

In the western countries, common man is never bogged down by it.

Here corruption is there even at the grassroot level.

That is the real problem, said a bench of Justices K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna.PIL petitioner-advocate Ashwini Upadhya stated if a court frames charges against a civil servant in a heinous offence, he is either suspended or dismissed from service.

But a prospect, unless convicted in a criminal case and sentenced to two or more years of jail time, would continue as a minister, parliamentarian or a legislator.

An individual, who on charges being framed in a heinous offense, can not become even a peon, can become a lawmaker and even a law minister, Upadhyay said, triggering Justice Joseph to ask EC counsel Amit Sharma for his views.

SC asked the Centre and EC to submit their reactions within three weeks and published the case for additional hearing in the very first week of April.