New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the Gauhati High Court’s judgment, which had annulled the election of BJP MLA, Dasanglu Pul, to the Arunachal Pradesh state assembly in 2019.
A bench consisting of Justices AS Bopanna and PS Narasimha accepted Pul’s appeal and rejected the election petition filed against her by her opponent in the election Lupalam Kri.
The Gauhati High Court had annulled the election based on an election petition filed by Kri, who alleged that Pul had failed to disclose six properties of her late husband in her election nomination form.
The High Court had accordingly invalidated her election, citing non-compliance with Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, deeming her nomination paper as liable for rejection.
Pul then had filed a petition at the Supreme Court which had in May, provided interim relief to the MLA by directing that no bye-election should be conducted in the constituency she represented during the pendency of her petition in the court.
The court also recognized Pul’s entitlement to all privileges as a Member of the Arunachal Legislative Assembly, granting her participation in all legislative proceedings and committee activities.
Dasanglu Pul, the widow of the former chief minister, Kalikho Pul, had been elected from the Hayuliang Assembly constituency in 2019. A detailed copy of the SC judgment is awaited. (With inputs from Live Law)
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