SC imposes Rs 2 lakh penalty on Uttarakhand poll body for flawed clarification

The Supreme Court on Friday imposed a Rs 2 lakh penalty on the Uttarakhand State Election Commission (SEC) for issuing a clarification allowing candidates’ nomination papers to be accepted even if their names appeared in multiple electoral rolls, observing that the poll body had acted in disregard of statutory provisions and undermined the integrity of the electoral process.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta noted that the SEC’s clarification prima facie violated Sections 9(6) and 9(7) of the Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act, 2016, which expressly prohibit a voter from being registered in more than one territorial constituency or on more than one electoral roll, according to Bar and Bench.

The High Court had stayed the SEC clarification in July after a petition by Shakti Singh, who alleged that the poll body had failed to properly scrutinise and verify nomination papers, resulting in several candidates appearing on multiple electoral rolls.

Singh submitted that the SEC’s inaction allowed candidates with irregularities to contest elections, thereby undermining the credibility of the electoral process.

Despite complaints highlighting the irregularities, the SEC issued a clarification stating that a candidate’s nomination would not be rejected solely because his name appeared in more than one electoral roll. The High Court observed that this clarification appeared to be “in the teeth of the statutory bar” and stayed its implementation, prompting the SEC to approach the Supreme Court.

The top court dismissed the appeal, emphasising that administrative clarifications cannot override clear statutory provisions, and underscored the responsibility of the poll body to ensure strict compliance with the law. The Rs 2 lakh penalty was imposed to mark the SEC’s failure to adhere to statutory mandates and to deter similar lapses in the future.