Itanagar: The Gauhati High Court’s Itanagar bench on Tuesday declared the election of BJP legislator Dasanglu Pul null and void under the Representation of People Act for concealing information about her properties in her election affidavit.
The High Court declared the candidacy of Hayuliang MLA Dasanglu Pul null and void while hearing an election petition filed by the 2019 Assembly election opponent and Congress candidate Lupalum Kri.
Lupalum Kri, who lost to Dasanglu Pul in 2019, moved the High Court challenging her win, saying she did not declare her husband’s four properties in Mumbai and two in Arunachal Pradesh in her election affidavit.
Kri filed the election petition, claiming that Pul’s candidacy was substantially defective as she concealed the material fact in Form 26 in the affidavit filed by her.
He also claimed that the returning officer had improperly accepted Dasanglu Pul’s candidature, despite a written complaint against her.
The High Court observed that ‘the respondent/returned candidate had not presented her nomination paper in accordance with Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and, as such, the nomination paper of the respondent/returned candidate is liable to be rejected under Section 36 (2) (a) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.’
The court also added that ‘improper acceptance’ of Dasanglu Pul’s nomination papers ‘materially affected’ the result of her election and with this judgment, Pul is technically no longer an MLA.
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However, the court made it clear that the ruling can be effected only after hearing the respondent’s petition.
Meanwhile, according to reports, the MLA is contemplating filing a petition challenging the High Court’s judgment.
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