The nomination of Grand Alliance candidate Shweta Suman from Mohania assembly constituency in Bihar has been cancelled. It is being said that she is a native of UP. The nomination of the person who left his job as a teacher from Valmiki Nagar seat and filed his candidature from Jan Suraj has also been cancelled.
RJD MLA from Sugauli assembly seat Shashi Bhushan Singh had nominated on VIP ticket. Due to a small mistake, Shashi Bhushan Singh’s nomination has also been canceled. In such a situation, let us know what precautions should be taken to ensure that the nomination does not get cancelled. Is it necessary to be a citizen of that state to contest elections, is it necessary to have name in the voter list? Let us know what are the rules related to this and what precautions should be taken.
Nomination is not canceled due to minor and technical mistakes
The process of filing nomination papers and their scrutiny is very important during elections. During this period, some objections can also be raised by the candidates or their representatives. But the law clearly says that no one’s nomination should be rejected for minor or technical reasons.
Nomination cannot be canceled due to these reasons
According to Section 36(4) of the Representation of India Act, 1951, the Returning Officer cannot reject a nomination paper merely because of a defect which is a very minor mistake or has been committed inadvertently.
– If there is a minor spelling mistake in the name or address.
– Someone’s name is slightly misspelled but is recognizable.
– Or the information related to the election symbol has not been filled completely.
– So all these will be considered as technical or minor errors and nomination should not be canceled on the basis of these.
What are the rules for filing an objection against someone?
If an objection is raised against a candidate, he should try to convince the Returning Officer that there is no serious defect in the nomination and that it should not be rejected merely on technical grounds. Objections can be raised by any candidate, his representative or the Returning Officer himself.
Valid reasons for cancellation of nomination
- The Returning Officer can cancel the nomination of a candidate only on the basis of any one of the valid legal grounds mentioned below.
- The candidate is not legally eligible to contest the election.
- The candidate is declared ineligible for any reason.
- The candidate has not taken the oath or affirmation required by the Constitution.
- Nomination forms or required documents were not submitted on time.
- The nomination papers were submitted by someone else instead of the candidate or proposer.
- Nomination submitted somewhere other than the designated place.
- Nomination submitted to any person other than the Returning Officer or his authorized assistant.
- The nomination form is not in the prescribed format.
- Number of proposers is not complete or signatures are missing/fake.
- Necessary security deposit was not deposited.
- The signature of the candidate or his proposers is not genuine.
- The candidate does not belong to the category for which the seat is reserved (e.g. a person from the general category nominates a candidate for a Scheduled Caste seat).
- The proposer is not a voter of that assembly constituency.
- The candidate did not submit an affidavit in the prescribed format along with the nomination.
- The candidate did not mention his age.
- The candidate is not a voter of that area and has not attached a certified copy or excerpt of the voter list containing his name.
- Columns in the affidavit were left blank and even after notice, a new affidavit was not given.
Candidate’s rights in case of cancellation of nomination
If the nomination of a candidate is rejected, he should immediately get a certified copy of that order from the Returning Officer. No fees or charges of any kind can be charged for this.
Time to respond to objection
If any objection is raised to the nomination and the candidate needs some time to respond, he can seek adjournment from the Returning Officer. According to the law, the officer can give the candidate maximum time till the next day to present his views.
Nomination is canceled only on solid legal grounds
Canceling nomination papers is not a small matter. This can be done only on solid legal grounds and not on any minor mistake or technical deficiency. The objective of the election process is to provide justice to every eligible candidate and no one’s candidature can be stopped on frivolous reasons.
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