New Delhi: The Supreme Court has refused to consider having re-election in Doiwala, the constituency of Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.
It dismissed a plea filed by a woman candidate seeking re-poll and also upheld a fine of Rs 2 lakh on her for the “vexatious litigation”.
The bench headed by Justice AK Sikri said there is no merit in the arguments sought to be raised by Hema Purohit, who had tried to impute malice on the returning officer.
A former member of the Indian National Congress, Purohit had filled up the nomination form in the assembly election last year as an independent candidate from Doiwala.
She contended that although it was the duty of the returning officer to point out the defects, the state election commission cancelled her nomination because she forgot to sign the nomination form.
She filed the election petition before the Uttarakhand High Court, which had in April this year issued notices to chief minister Rawat and 13 others, including the central government and the Election Commission.
However, after receiving the responses from the poll panel and the parties, the high court noted that non-signing of the nomination form was an incurable defect and Purohit's petition was a “mere abuse of process of law”.
It added that since her plea has consumed precious time of the court and also valuable time and money of the respondents, including the chief minister, Purohit's petition should be junked with an exemplary cost of Rs 2 lakh.
Purohit moved the Supreme Court in appeal but the bench remained unimpressed with her contentions and trashed the plea on the first date of hearing itself.
“Having heard the learned counsel for the appellant, we see no reason to interfere with the impugned order. The appeal is, accordingly, dismissed,” stated the court order.
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