Friday,
May 9, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Election of Safidon MLA
set aside
Tribune News Service
 Chandigarh, May 8
In just over three years after ruling Indian National Lok Dal candidate Ram Phal Kundu was declared elected from the Safidon Assembly Constituency, Mr Justice Viney Mittal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today ordered the setting aside of his elections. Delivering the verdict on a petition filed by rival Indian National Congress candidate Kamal Sharma, Mr Justice Mittal also
directed the Election Commission of India to hold fresh elections. In his petition, Kamal Sharma had earlier contended that his nomination papers were “wrongly
rejected” by the Returning Officer vide order dated February 5, 2000.
| Soon after Mr Justice Viney Mittal of the high court allowed the election petition, an application was filed on behalf of Mr Ram Phal Kundu for staying the operation of order. Seeking the grant of stay “till the filing of an appeal in the Supreme Court”, Mr Kundu asserted that he would suffer irreparable loss if the same was not ordered. His counsel added that Mr Kundu had not indulged in any “corrupt practice”. Moreover, he had the mandate of the people. The application is likely to come up for hearing on Friday.
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Going into the background of the case, the petitioner had asserted that the nomination papers were submitted by him on February 3, 2000, at about 12.20 pm. Subsequently, another candidate Bacchan Singh also filed his nomination papers after claiming himself to be the Congress candidate. The Returning Officer rejected Sharma’s nomination papers even though he was the only Congress candidate as per the forms submitted by him along with the documents, his counsel had submitted. The elections were held on February 22, 2000. After going through the documents and hearing the arguments in the case, Mr Justice Mittal ruled: “From the facts, it is apparent that a duty and obligation was cast upon the Returning Officer to conduct the scrutiny of the nomination papers filed before him up to the last date of filing nominations”. The Judge further ruled: “When there were two sets of nomination papers, filed before him on behalf of the Congress party, it was his duty to find out as to who was the party candidate. The function was apparently a quasi-judicial one. Once rescrutiny was ordered by the Election Commission and the same was conducted in the presence of the candidates, along with authorised person of the Congress party namely Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the Returning Officer was expected to decide the matter keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case.... Apparently, he has not done so”. In his detailed 65-page order, the Judge added: “In view of the matter, the order dated February 8, 2000, passed by the Returning Officer, whereby the nomination paper of the petitioners was rejected, is clearly unsustainable in law and improper under the circumstances of the case”. The Judge concluded: “I have already held that the Returning Officer had wrongly and improperly rejected the nomination papers of the petitioner — Kamal Sharma — filed before him. As such the election to the Safidon Assembly Constituency is liable to be set aside. Accordingly, the election petition is allowed with no order on costs. The election held on February 22, 2000, the result of which was declared on February 25, 2000, is declared void and is set aside”.
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