Shimla, Sep 16 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Monday dismissed BJP MP Harsh Mahajan’s application urging the court to reject Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s plea which challenged the procedures followed in deciding the winner of the February 27 Rajya Sabha poll in the state after the two were tied at 34 votes.
“I find no merit in any of the contentions raised by the respondent/applicant (Mahajan) for rejecting the election petition filed by the petitioner and consequently the application is dismissed,” a single-judge bench of Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua said.
Singhvi had filed an application in the High Court on April 6, more than five weeks after he lost the poll to Mahajan, challenging the interpretation of the draw of lots rules by the Returning Officer after there was a tie.
The winner was announced by a draw of lots, and under the procedure followed by the election officer, the candidate whose name came out from the lots was declared the loser.
Mahajan was declared the winner.
The Congress had the strength of 40 members then and the support of three Independents. But both the candidates polled 34 votes each as nine legislators — six Congress rebels and three Independents — supported BJP nominee Mahajan.
The order said that the election petition discloses all material facts required under the law.
The petition has made out a cause of action alleging non-compliance of statutory provisions by the returning officer who invoked rules 75 (4) and 81 (3) of conduct of election rules, the order said.
The 75 (4) and 81 (3) rules provide that in case of a tie, the persons whose name is drawn in the name of lots would be excluded.
Mahajan pleaded that the returning officer clearly told both the candidates about the rule before the elections and also before counting.
Senior advocates P Chidambaram and Prashanto Sen appeared for Singhvi through video conferencing.
The court said whether the invocation of rules by the Returning Officer was flawed has to be considered and deliberated upon at an appropriate stage of trial.
The court observed that if the petitioner’s submission that the invocation of rules was completely flawed comes out to be correct and legitimate, it would affect the result of the Rajya Sabha polls and the election would become illegal.
After filing his petition in the HC on April 6, Singhvi had told reporters, “There is nothing in the law, neither in the act nor in the rules, which compels an interpretation which requires that the person whose name is drawn in the draw of lots is a loser.” “It defies common sense, old tradition and practices, anywhere and everywhere in the world that whenever there is a tie between two people, the person whose name is drawn…should be the winner and not the loser.
“If our contentions are accepted ultimately by the high court, the result declared would have to be declared to be wrong,” Singhvi had maintained.
The Conduct of Election Rules has a provision for draw of lots for both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha elections.
A former Election Commission functionary had explained after the February 27 election results that the key difference in the draw of lots in the two cases is that in Rajya Sabha elections, the candidate whose slip is drawn loses the poll, whereas in the Lok Sabha polls, the candidate whose slip is drawn wins. PTI BPL TIR TIR
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