In a move echoing the principle that democracy can’t thrive on duplicates, the Uttarakhand High Court has hit pause on a recent directive from the State Election Commission (SEC) that allowed candidates to contest elections even if their names appeared on multiple electoral rolls.
The directive, which effectively greenlit dual listings across different gram panchayats, territorial constituencies, or municipal bodies, didn’t sit well with the bench of Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Alok Mahra. They found it flying in the face of Section 9(6) and 9(7) of the Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act, 2016 — provisions that clearly outlaw such overlapping registrations.
The Court minced no words. “When the statute lays down an express bar on registration in more than one constituency or electoral roll, the SEC’s clarification cannot override that. It’s in direct conflict with the law and is hereby stayed,” the judges declared, making it clear that the Commission’s stance was not just a misstep, but a statutory contradiction.
This intervention came on the heels of a petition filed by one Shakti Singh Barthwal, who accused the SEC of turning a blind eye to obvious red flags. According to him, the Commission’s negligence had enabled individuals with multiple voter listings to sail through the nomination process unchecked — a crack in the system wide enough to undermine the entire election process.
After several complaints piled up, the SEC tried to mop up the mess with a clarification. Instead of tightening scrutiny, the Commission suggested that such dual listings wouldn’t disqualify a candidate — a move Singh called not just illogical but unlawful.
Now, with the Court stepping in, that clarification is on ice. Singh is also pressing for an investigation into how these multi-listing anomalies slipped through and is demanding disqualification of all such candidates who’ve made it to the ballot on what he claims are shaky grounds.
The case will be back in court on August 11, and until then, the SEC’s leniency policy has been firmly clipped.
