Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court on Friday dismissed 18 petitions challenging the rejection of candidates’ nomination papers and the acceptance of rival nominations for the local body elections, ruling that such disputes cannot be heard under Article 226 once the electoral process has begun.The petitions were filed by candidates after rejection of their nominations at Danta, Samari, Sivdivadar, Mitha, Valsad, Limbdi, Dehgam, Banthiwada, Vav-Tharad, Dhrangadhra, Dahod, Tharad, Savli, Mandvi, Palitana, Visnagar, Bhavnagar and Surat. The rejections were on various grounds, including three-child rule violations, missing caste certificates, incomplete police certificates, arrears due to municipalities, conviction in criminal cases, non-disclosure of pending cases, mismatch in mandate forms and defects in proposer signatures. Challenging the rejection of their nominations and acceptance of opponents’ nominations in some of the cases, the petitioners contended that the returning officers acted arbitrarily, illegally and with mala fide intent. They sought high court’s intervention so that they could contest the polls. Govt pleader G H Virk opposed the pleas, arguing that the Constitution bars court interference in electoral matters and that candidates must seek relief through election petitions after polling. The bench of Justice N S Sanjay Gowda and Justice J L Odedra cited the Supreme Court’s ruling reaffirming that Articles 243O and 243ZG create an express constitutional embargo on writ jurisdiction in panchayat and municipal election disputes where statutory election-petition remedies exist. Dismissing the petitions, the bench said, “It is needless to state that the petitioners would always have the remedy of filing an election petition after the elections are conducted in the manner prescribed under the relevant laws.”
