SC rejects plea seeking to bar candidates from contesting elections from more than one seat
The Hindu
‘This is a policy matter and an issue concerning political democracy. It is for the Parliament to take a call,’ a Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud observed
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to set aside a provision in the election law which allows candidates to contest polls from two constituencies simultaneously.
“This is a policy matter and an issue concerning political democracy. It is for the Parliament to take a call,” a Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud observed.
The petition filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, represented by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, had sought the court to declare Section 33(7) of the Representation of People Act invalid and ultra vires.
“Like one-person-one-vote, one-candidate-one-constituency is the dictum of democracy… Section 33(7) of the Act allows a person to contest a general election or a group of by-elections or biennial elections from two constituencies,” the petitioner argued.
But the court chose to leave the issue to the wisdom of the Parliament.
“This is a matter of legislative policy, since ultimately it is Parliament’s will to see if a country can be granted such a choice. Hence, absent any manifest arbitrariness in the said provision, we cannot strike it down,” the court noted.
In 2018, the government had objected to the petition in court.
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