HC sets aside election of DMK candidate

Justice V Dhanapalan held that even if the nomination of a candidate had been rejected improperly under section 100(1)(c) of the Representation of the People Act and successful candidate was not at fault, the consequence to be followed under the section required the declaration of the election of the returned candidate to be void.

The judge was allowing an election petition filed by K Kalaimani of Makkal Manadu Katchi.

The petitioner had sought to declare rejection of his nomination by the returning officer (RO) as "improper, illegal, void and contrary to provisions of RPA" and to set aside the entire poll process including Mathiarasan's election.

 

The RO had rejected the nomination on the ground that the list of three proposers were not mentioned in serial numbers of the electoral rolls of the constituency. The judge, however, pointed out that the serial numbers 71,129 and 133 of proposers in nomination papers were listed as 72, 130 and 134.

"It only shows that the discrepancy of the said serial numbers in the nomination papers vis-a-vis the electoral roll is just one level below," the judge said.

The Judge said while it was not the case of the petitioner that the relief sought for was on the basis of corruption charges against Mathiarasan, the returned candidate, however, argued that he could not be held responsible for any lapse on the part of election authorities concerned.

Though the matter had become infructuous, however, in view of the serious lapses on part of RO and also chief electoral officer 'the decision in the election petition should not only be academic but realistic as well," the judge said.

The court directed the RO and CEO of the relevant period and the Election Commission of India to jointly pay costs of Rs 25,000 to the petitioner within one month from the date of receipt of production of a copy of the order.