ECI certificate required for dismissed employee for participation in elections: HC

Excelsior correspondent
Srinagar, April 21: The Supreme Court has ruled that the returning officer can reject the acceptance of the appointment form of any person discharged from service if it is not accompanied by a certificate issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Justice Sindhu Sharma recorded this in a plea filed by one Abdul Bari Naik, requesting that his candidature for the upcoming Assembly elections be accepted and he be allowed to contest as an independent candidate from the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary seat.
He states that despite all the requisite formalities, his candidature was not accepted as he was dismissed from service in April 2021, although the same is being challenged before a competent forum.
While dismissing his plea, Justice Sharma observed that the petitioner-Naik was not a duly nominated person within the meaning of the Representation of People Act, 1951 as the Election Commission has rejected his application for grant of certificate under Article 9 , paragraph 2 of the Act on the Representation of the People of 1951. said law.
He was dismissed from service by invoking Article 311(2) of the Constitution of India regarding the interests of state security and seeking to accept his nomination paper to contest as an independent candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The petitioner alleges that despite completing all requisite formalities, his nomination document was not accepted by the Returning Officer and he was asked to furnish the certificate under Section 9 of the Representation of People Act, 1951 along with his nomination document and till then his appointment paper could not be accepted.
He alleged that he had applied to the Election Commission of India (ECI) for the said certificate but the Election Commission, despite hearing him personally, had not taken any decision as such; there was no bar to accepting his nomination paper.
The Respondent Committee informed the court that his application for the said certificate has been duly considered and rejected in the light of section 33 of the Act, that he was not a duly nominated person and such applications have also been barred in the meaning of Article 329 of the Constitution of India as the election process had already begun and the only avenue available to the petitioner was to file an election petition.
The court examining the legal position on all these aspects has held that after the election process has been initiated, the petition under Article 226 cannot be maintained in view of a stay under Article 329 of the Constitution of India .
The court also observed that in the absence of a certificate under Section 9(2) of the Representation of People Act, the petitioner is not a duly nominated person and even if his nomination document was presented to the Returning Officer, the same could not be accepted . The court therefore rejected the request.