EC indicts Haryana Assembly secretary

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 28

The Election Commission has indicted Haryana Legislative Assembly secretary RK Nandal, who was the Returning Officer for the June 11 Rajya Sabha election that witnessed the ‘ink controversy’, leading to rejection of 12 legislators’ votes.

It has recommended disciplinary action against him in a communication sent to the Chief Secretary.

The commission has also directed the Chief Electoral Officer, Haryana, to lodge an FIR against persons on election duty or otherwise, whose conduct resulted in the change of pen/ink.

The commission said an FIR should be registered under sections 129 (influencing voting), 134 (breach of official duty in connection with elections) and 136 (1) (b), 136 (1) (f) and 136 (1) (g) [fraudulently defacing ballot papers] of the Representation of People’s Act and sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 171C, 171F (interference in free and fair polls), 378, 379 (theft), 415 (cheating), 425, 426 (mischief), 463, 464, 465, 467 and 468 (forgery) of the IPC.

The votes of 12 Congress MLAs were declared invalid for marking their preferences with a pen having a different colour ink than the one officially supplied.

Both the INLD, whose candidate RK Anand lost to BJP-supported Subhash Chandra, and the Congress had accused the ruling party as well as the poll officials of foul play. The commission has now held Nandal guilty of “concealment of material facts” from it, “wilful non-compliance” of its lawful directions and written to the Haryana Chief Secretary for disciplinary action against him.

The EC order said it was a “serious case of lack of supervisory control and negligence in performance of duty” that an unauthorised pen was found inside the voting compartment and another was surreptitiously used for marking ballot papers. The disciplinary proceedings have to be completed within six months.