The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea filed by the Uttarakhand State Election Commission (SEC) challenging a High Court order that struck down its circular allowing candidates whose names appeared in multiple electoral rolls to contest panchayat elections.

Along with upholding the High Court’s ruling, the Supreme Court also imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on the Uttarakhand poll panel.

The Uttarakhand High Court had earlier ruled that the SEC’s clarification went against the Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act, 2016. The law makes it clear that a person cannot be enrolled as a voter in more than one place at the same time. The SEC’s order, however, allowed such candidates to contest, leading to a legal challenge.

The State Election Commission then approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s ruling.

Upholding the High Court’s verdict, the Supreme Court pulled up the state poll body and remarked, “How can you decide contrary to the statutory provision?”

CONGRESS REACTS

Soon after the verdict, the Congress launched a sharp attack on the BJP and the Election Commission. In a post on X, the party said the Supreme Court had exposed “vote theft”, alleging that the poll body was working hand in glove with the ruling BJP.

The party accused the BJP of first shifting voters’ names from villages to cities during municipal polls, and then moving them back to village rolls ahead of panchayat elections. According to Congress, when that strategy faced resistance, BJP members got themselves registered afresh at multiple places, making them eligible to vote in more than one constituency.

Congress alleged that despite repeated complaints and reminders about the six-month residency rule for inclusion in electoral rolls, the SEC “refused to act” and allowed such candidates to contest. The High Court stepped in and ordered action, but the SEC challenged the directive, only to be rebuked now by the Supreme Court.

“This decision of the Supreme Court shows that the Election Commission, in collusion with BJP, is carrying out ‘vote theft’ across the entire country and undermining democracy,” the Congress alleged.

– Ends

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