Candidate Duly Elected In Democratic Process Can't Be Stopped From Assuming Office: Supreme Court

Holding that a candidate who has been duly elected in a democratic process cannot be stopped from assuming the elected office, the Supreme Court directed the District Election Officer of Jhajjar (Haryana) to give the charge of the Sarpanch to the elected candidate who was restrained from assuming the charge of the Office despite having won the election.

It was a case where the Appellant, one Sandeep Kumar, had won the Panchayat elections for the post of Sarpanch Asaudah (Siwan) in District Jhajjar, Haryana but was unable to assume the charge of the office. Along with the Appellant, three other candidates contested the same post, where one candidate withdrew the nomination, and the nominations of the other two candidates were rejected citing that they didn't fulfil the educational qualifications. After this, only the Appellant left and was declared elected as Sarpanch.

Soon after the Appellant's election, one of the contestants (Respondent No. 1) approached the High Court seeking direction to the state election authorities to consider the matriculation certificate of respondent no.1 and stated that his nomination can't be rejected based on his educational qualification. The High Court passed an order and directed the returning officer to accept the nomination of respondent no.1.

Alongside respondent no.1 writ petition, the Appellant also filed a writ petition seeking the direction from the High Court to the DEO to give charge of Sarpanch to the appellant. As the High Court passed no order in the Appellant's petition, he preferred a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court.

Upon hearing the counsels of the parties, the bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah noted that respondent no.1 could not have approached the High Court under its writ jurisdiction. Rather, he could have filed an Election Petition challenging the election of the Appellant or for that matter the rejection of its nomination paper by the election authorities.

“once elections are announced, they should not be interfered with and after the election, the only remedy is to file an election petition and the rejection of a nomination paper is definitely one of the grounds that can be raised in an election petition. The respondent no.1 has not availed this remedy. More so, he has not even made appellant as a party in the writ petition.”, the court said upon placing reliance on Mohinder Singh Gill & Anr. vs. The Chief Election Commissioner, New Delhi (1978).

“Under these circumstances, we are of the opinion that an interim order needs to be passed in this case as a candidate who has been duly elected in a democratic process cannot be stopped from assuming the elected office, particularly in the manner in which it has been done.”, the Court added.

“Accordingly, we direct the Deputy Commissioner, Jhajjar, District Jhajjar-cum-District Election Officer (respondent no.6) to forthwith give the charge of Sarpanch of a Village Panchayat namely Asaudah (Siwan), District Jhajjar, Haryana, to the appellant.”, the Court ordered.

Case Title: SANDEEP KUMAR VERSUS VINOD & ORS.

Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 708

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