Even as the Congress’s Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh Meenakshi Natarajan moved the Supreme Court on Thursday challenging the rejection of her nomination, the process for challenging the conduct and result of any Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha or Assembly poll conducted by the Election Commission (EC) only through an election petition filed in the relevant High Court.
While the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the matter on Friday, it did not grant a stay on the declaration of results by the EC as sought by Natarajan’s lawyer, senior advocate and MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
Here’s a look at what has happened so far and how elections can be challenged.
What happened to Natarajan’s nomination?
The EC on May 22 announced elections to 24 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states, including three seats in Madhya Pradesh. As per the EC’s schedule, the period for filing nominations was June 1 to June 8 and the date for scrutiny of nominations was June 9.
During the scrutiny of Natarajan’s nomination in Bhopal on Tuesday, the Returning Officer rejected Natarajan’s nomination, saying she had failed to disclose details of a case filed against her, which is a requirement under law. The action was taken based on the complaint of BJP Madhya Pradesh general secretary Rahul Kothari.
The Congress filed a complaint with the EC on Wednesday seeking a review of the RO’s decision, saying that no court had taken cognisance of the complaint filed against Natarajan in Telangana in 2022 by a former associate.
Under Section 33 A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, candidates are required to furnish the information of all offences punishable with imprisonment of two years or more in a pending case in which charges have been framed by a court.
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In the case cited by the BJP in its complaint, charges have not been framed. The Congress also argued that the EC could reverse the RO’s decision by invoking its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution.
With the EC not responding to its request, the Congress moved the Supreme Court on Thursday. According to the election schedule, Thursday is the last date for withdrawal of candidature. With only the BJP candidate remaining, the EC can declare a BJP win by the end of the day.
What is the process of challenging an election results or process?
From the date of announcement of an election till the declaration of results, courts do not interfere in the conduct of polls, as the EC has the Constitutional authority over superintendence, direction and control of preparation of electoral rolls and conduct of elections. Once the results are declared, any aggrieved candidate or elector of the constituency concerned can move court to challenge the election.
Chapter II of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 details the process of election petitions. Section 80 of the Act says: “No election shall be called in question except by an election petition presented in accordance with the provisions of this part.” As per Section 80A, the petition is to be filed before the High Court of the state.
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The next section, Section 81, says an election petition can be filed by any candidate or any elector of the constituency within 45 days of the declaration of the result of the election. The elector refers to anyone who was on the electoral rolls and entitled to vote in that constituency, but does not mean that they must have voted.
The petition should contain a “concise statement of the material facts on which the petitioner relies”, “…full particulars of any corrupt practice that the petitioner alleges, including as full a statement as possible of the names of the parties alleged to have committed such corrupt practice and the date and place of the commission of each such practice; and shall be signed by the petitioner and verified in the manner laid down…”.
Chapter III of the Act lays down the trial process, including that the election petitions should be tried “as expeditiously as possible” and that the court should endeavour to conclude the trial within six months. As per Section 100 of the Act, the High Court can declare an election void on the grounds that the winning candidate was not qualified or disqualified on the date of the election; the winning candidate or his/her election agent or any other person with the consent of the candidate committed a corrupt practice; and if any nomination was improperly rejected. The High Court’s judgment can be appealed in the Supreme Court.
What is the precedent?
Election petitions usually take years to be heard, with the winning candidate continuing to participate in legislatures while the case is pending. Perhaps the most well-known election petition is Indira Nehru Gandhi vs Raj Narain, which led to Gandhi being disqualified from contesting elections for six years.
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Gandhi had won the Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli in 1971, a result challenged by Narain on the grounds of corrupt practice. In 1975, the Allahabad High Court held that Gandhi had got the help of government officers for her election campaign and committed a corrupt practice. The High Court held her election as void, leading her to appeal in the Supreme Court, which set off a series of events eventually leading to the proclamation of Emergency in June 1975.
More recently, an election petition challenging the 2009 Lok Sabha election of Congress MP P Chidambaram was dismissed by the Madras High Court in 2021. The court found that the charge of corrupt practices was not proved.