Runner-up declared elected from municipal ward in Ghaziabad

Petitioner Kusum Singh, the runner-up, approached the court and contended that nomination form of Ashutosh Sharma, the winning Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor from ward 83 of Shyam Park Extension in Sahibabad, had errors and his name was present in both the electoral rolls of Delhi as well as Ghaziabad

A Ghaziabad court has cancelled the candidature of a municipal councillor and directed the district administration officials to declare the runner-up, also the petitioner in the case, as the elected candidate. The case pertains to the 2017 local body elections for the Ghaziabad municipal corporation.

Ghaziabad, India - August 30, 2022: In Dasna, billboards with faces of the city panchayat election candidates have been installed on the road, in Ghaziabad, India on Tuesday, August 30, 2022. (Photo by Sakib Ali/ Hindustan Times)

Petitioner Kusum Singh, the runner-up, approached the court and contended that nomination form of Ashutosh Sharma, the winning Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor from ward 83 of Shyam Park Extension in Sahibabad, had errors and his name was present in both the electoral rolls of Delhi as well as Ghaziabad.

“In our petition, we contended that the councillor’s nomination form provided incorrect information in some columns and these were left blank in violation of norms. His name was present in two electoral rolls in Delhi as well as in Ghaziabad. The nomination should have been rejected by the returning officer but the form was accepted and the councillor finally contested and went on to win the local body polls,” said CP Singh, husband of applicant Kusum Singh, who could not be reached for her comments.

Petitioner Kusum Singh approached the court in 2018 after the result of the local body polls was declared on December 1, 2017.

During the election, Sharma secured 2,230 votes (33.52%), while runner-up Singh amassed 2,202 votes (33.1%). She had contested as an Independent candidate.

Singh had served two consecutive terms as councillor from the same ward but lost in 2017 while contesting as an Independent candidate.

The ward in 2017 had a total of 16,291 voters while only 6,653 turned out to cast their ballots.

Additional district and sessions judge, Tejendra Pal, while admitting the petition filed by Singh, directed the authorities to declare the runner-up as the elected candidate and declare the election of Sharma as null and void.

“The district magistrate (the district election officer) is directed to ensure compliance. In addition, it is also directed that departmental inquiry should be initiated against the responsible officers after a thorough probe,” the court said in its order delivered on August 24.

The court said in its order that the election was liable to be cancelled for violation of section 38 of the Municipal Corporation Act, 1959.

Section 38 of the Act says, “No person shall be entitled to be registered in the electoral roll for any ward if his name is entered in any electoral roll pertaining to any other city, cantonment or gram panchayat unless he/she can provide proof that his name has been struck off from such electoral roll.”

With the court order delivered, Sharma is no longer a councillor now.

“It was contended in the petition that my name existed in electoral rolls of Delhi and also in Ghaziabad. I had cancelled my name from the electoral roll in Delhi. The forms which I filled during the nomination were to be checked by the returning officer during the scrutiny process and they found it correct. I will move to a higher court,” Sharma said.

However, with the next local body polls scheduled during the end of this year, Singh is now the official councillor from the ward.

“In accordance with the directions of the court, the election of the existing councillor stands cancelled and Kusum Singh is the new official councillor and she is authorised to undertake official works. She was given a certificate on Monday. We will initiate an inquiry against the then officials and suitable action will be initiated,” said Ritu Suhas, additional district magistrate, Ghaziabad.