Supreme Court notice on plea for restricting candidate to one constituency

The Supreme Court Friday issued notice to the central government and the Election Commission on a petition seeking direction that no candidate could simultaneously contest election from more than one constituency for the same legislative body in the same election.

A bench of Chief Justice P.Sathasivam and Justice N.V.Ramana issued notice on a petition seeking declaration that Section 70 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, deals with the situation of a candidate getting elected from more than one seat, be declared ultra vires of the constitution.

Section 70 says that if a person is elected to more than one seat in either house of parliament or in the house or either house of the legislature of a state, then he will resign from all but one seat. If the candidate fails to do so within prescribed time, then all seats he has been elected from would stand vacated.

The court issued notice as petitioner, advocate H.K. Naik appearing in person, told the court that the founding fathers of the constitution during debates in the constituent assembly never dreamt of a scenario that one day a candidate would be filing nomination papers for more than one seat in the same election and for the same legislature.

Seeking direction against the practice, he said that the poll panel should ask for an affidavit from the contesting candidates that they are not contesting from more than one constituency.

The failure to file such an affidavit would result in the rejection of the nomination papers, he contended.