New Delhi, October 1
The Supreme Court has set aside the election of former Uttar Pradesh minister Ram Bhual in the February 2002 polls, upholding the Allahabad High Court’s order that the returning officer had wrongly rejected the nomination of an independent.
His election was challenged in the High Court by defeated candidate Ambika Singh while the candidate whose nomination was rejected, had not preferred an petition.
Upholding the High Court order, a Bench of Chief Justice R C Lahoti, Justice G P Mathur and Justice P K Balasubramanyan said it was a settled law that if nomination of any of the candidate contesting election was rejected wrongly, the entire election process had to be quashed.
It turned down the plea of Mr Bhual that since the independent candidate, Sita Ram had not challenged the rejection order, there was no occasion for the High Court to intervene.
