SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court ruled that the returning officer can reject the acceptance of a nomination form of any person dismissed from service if it’s not accompanied by a certificate issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Justice Sindhu Sharma stated this in a plea filed by Abdul Bari Naik, who sought acceptance of his candidature for the upcoming Parliamentary election and permission to contest as an independent candidate from Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary seat.
Naik’s plea was dismissed by Justice Sharma, who observed that Naik wasn’t a duly nominated person under the Representation of People Act, 1951, as the Election Commission rejected his request for a certificate. Naik was dismissed from service under Article 311(2) of the Constitution of India.
Despite completing formalities, his nomination paper was not accepted by the Returning Officer as he failed to furnish the required certificate. Naik, who was an assistant professor, was terminated from service in 2021 and had applied for the certificate from the ECI, but it was rejected. The court noted that Naik’s petition under Article 226 wasn’t maintainable as the election process had started, as per Article 329 of the Constitution of India.
Also, without the certificate under section 9(2) of the Representation of People Act, Naik wasn’t a duly nominated person, and thus, his nomination paper couldn’t be accepted. The court dismissed Naik’s petition accordingly.
