The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday dismissed a plea challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to hold the Karnal assembly byelection.
The bench of justice Sudhir Singh and justice Harsh Bunger said that merely because the remainder of the term of the House is less than one year, it is no ground to debar the ECI from holding the byelection.
The judgment came on the plea of one Kunal Chanana, who had petitioned the high court arguing that the ECI cannot hold the byelection because the remainder of the duration of Haryana assembly’s term was less than a year. The proviso (a) of Section 151-A of the Representation of the People Act states that the ECI can’t hold the byelection in case the term of the assembly is less than a year, he had argued.
The high court bench said that proviso (a) to Section 151A of the Act, is an “exception and not a rule” and thus, a liberal interpretation of the same is required.
“The remainder term of the new incumbent chief minister being less than one year and the vacancy being available, no fault can be found with the impugned notification (ECI notification on polls) as regards the Karnal constituency, as the said act of the Election Commission of India, only facilitates the mandate of Article 164(4) of the Constitution of India,” the bench opined. Article 164(4) says a person appointed as a minister, who is not a member of the legislature, with a view to continuing as a minister must get elected during a short period of six consecutive months after his appointment.
The court further remarked that if the elections of Karnal assembly seat are not held, the result would be that the constituency would remain unrepresented until the state assembly polls are not held despite the availability of the vacancy. “That being the position, the Election Commission of India cannot be said to have committed any error in declaring the byelection to the constituency of Karnal, considering the mandate of Article 164(4) of the Constitution of India,” it said, adding that in this scenario, it is held that the provision of the Article 164(4) is a valid consideration for the ECI for holding an election in the case of an vacancy.
{{/usCountry}}The court further remarked that if the elections of Karnal assembly seat are not held, the result would be that the constituency would remain unrepresented until the state assembly polls are not held despite the availability of the vacancy. “That being the position, the Election Commission of India cannot be said to have committed any error in declaring the byelection to the constituency of Karnal, considering the mandate of Article 164(4) of the Constitution of India,” it said, adding that in this scenario, it is held that the provision of the Article 164(4) is a valid consideration for the ECI for holding an election in the case of an vacancy.
{{/usCountry}}The seat had fallen vacant on March 13 after the resignation of former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who resigned after the Nayab Singh Saini government passed the floor test in the assembly. The BJP has fielded Saini from Karnal assembly seat, and he must get elected as a member of the assembly within six months to remain chief minister. The assembly elections in the state are slated for October.