HC declines sacked AP’s plea to contest LS polls

Srinagar, Apr 21: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has dismissed plea seeking to contest the ensuing parliamentary elections from Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary seat as an independent candidate by Abdul Bari Naik, the assistant professor( AP) who was dismissed from service allegedly for anti-national activities in 2021.

Dismissing Bari’s plea, a bench of Justice Sindhu Sharma underscored that the petitioner was aware that “he has been dismissed from the office and was disqualified for a period of five years of the dismissal till he provides a certificate from Election Commission that he has not been dismissed for corruption or disloyalty to the State”.

“That is precisely why the petitioner made a representation and even appeared before the Election Commission. The petitioner, however, did not reveal the rejection of his application when the matter was taken up for consideration (by Election Commission) on 18th and 19th of April, 2024”.

The court said the nomination of candidates is provided in part-V of the Representation of the Peoples Act.

The court reproduced Section of the Act in its judgment, which states theta where the candidate is a person who, having held any office referred to in section 9 has been dismissed and a period of five years has not elapsed since the dismissal, such person shall not be deemed to be duly nominated as a candidate unless his nomination paper is accompanied by a certificate issued in the prescribed manner by the Election Commission to the effect that he has not been dismissed for corruption or disloyalty to the State.

In his plea, Bari had stated that he is an activist having “strong and robust background of having served the people of Jammu & Kashmir for the last so many years.” Bari contended that he being actively involved in public life is desirous of contesting the upcoming parliamentary elections from Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary seat as an independent candidate.