Right to contest poll not fundamental: Supreme Court

New Delhi, September 13

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Maintaining that right to contest poll is neither a fundamental right nor a common law right, the Supreme Court has asked a petitioner to shell out Rs 1 lakh for filing a frivolous petition.

A Bench led by Justice Hemant Gupta said an individual can’t claim he has a right to contest an election. The Representation of People Act, 1950, read with the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, contemplated that the name of a candidate has to be proposed while filling the nomination form. The petitioner submitted that a notification for election to the Rajya Sabha was issued on May 12, 2022, to fill the seats of members retiring from June 21, 2022, to August 1, 2022, and the last date for submission of the nomination was May 31.

He said he collected the nomination form but was not allowed to file his nomination papers without a proper proposer.