Supreme Court Rejects Pleas Challenging 'Proposer' Requirement In President Poll
NDTV
The 16th presidential election is scheduled for July 18 and the counting of votes will take place three days after the polling.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain two separate pleas challenging the validity of a legal scheme envisaging that a candidate for the election of the President must be subscribed by at least 50 MPs or MLAs as proposers and 50 as seconders, saying filing of such cases at the time of polls is not a "healthy practice".
A vacation bench comprising justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala was hearing separate pleas filed by Delhi resident Bam Bam Maharaj Nowhattia and Dr Mandati Thirupathi Reddy, a native of Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh, on the issue.
The petitioners alleged that the provisions, especially section Section 5 B (1) (a) of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, bar a person from contesting the presidential polls if the candidature is not signed by 50 lawmakers as proposers and 50 as seconders.
While dealing with the petition of Mr Nowhattia, who has been unsuccessfully attempting to contest Presidential polls since 2007, the bench termed him as a "seasonal activist" who wakes up after every five years to contest the election for the top post.
