Jammu Kashmir High Court has determined that a returning officer has the authority to reject the acceptance of a nomination form if it lacks a certificate issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI), particularly for individuals dismissed from service.
The decision came in response to 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 the Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary seat.
However, Justice Sindhu Sharma dismissed Naik’s plea, noting that he did not meet the requirements outlined in the Representation of People Act, 1951. “Naik, who was dismissed from service under Article 311(2) of the Constitution of India, failed to provide the necessary certificate from the Election Commission, despite completing other formalities,” the court observed.
The court emphasized that Naik’s nomination paper could not be accepted without the requisite certificate under section 9(2) of the Representation of People Act.
Furthermore, it deemed Naik’s petition under Article 226 as not maintainable, citing the commencement of the election process as per Article 329 of the Constitution of India.
Consequently, Naik’s petition was dismissed by the court, affirming the returning officer’s decision to reject his nomination paper due to the absence of the mandated certificate.