Delhi High Court
Satya Narayan Prasad vs Election Commission Of India ... on 26 September, 2018
$~49
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Date of Decision: 26.09.2018
+ W.P.(C) 10198/2018 & CM APPL. 39778-80/2018
SATYA NARAYAN PRASAD ..... Petitioner
Through: Petitioner in person.
versus
ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA THROUGH : SECRETARY
..... Respondent
Through: Mr. P.R. Chopra, Adv.
CORAM:
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE V. KAMESWAR RAO
RAJENDRA MENON, CHIEF JUSTICE (ORAL)
CM APPLs. 39778/2018 & 39779/2018 (both for exemption)
Allowed, subject to just exceptions.
Both the applications stand disposed of.
W.P.(C) 10198/2018 & CM APPL. 39780/2018
1. Petitioner claiming to be a public spirited person has filed this writ
petition in public interest and the prayer made in the writ petition reads as
under:
"1. Directing the Hon'ble Election Commission to hold the
constitutional elections, the losers of the Lok Sabha (Lower
House) / Legislative Assembly elections should be instructed to
declare the disqualification for the Rajya Sabha (Upper House)
elections for 5 years.
2. Pass such order / direction as this Hon'ble Court deem
fit and proper in the interest of justice."
2. It is the case of the petitioner that the candidates who contest the
election to the Lok Sabha and are defeated or lose the same are being
nominated or permitted to contest the election to the Rajya Sabha. This,
according to the petitioner, is contrary to the decision taken by the people of
the country inasmuch as once they have rejected the candidature of a person
to be elected to the Lok Sabha, permitting such person to be nominated or
elected to the Rajya Sabha, in the opinion of the petitioner, amounts to
violation of the provisions of the Constitution and is a misuse of the
democratic process of election. Inter alia contending that repeated
representations and complaints in this regard made to the Election
Commission of India and the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs have not
yielded any result, the petitioner has filed this writ petition in public interest
with the prayer as indicated hereinabove.
3. The petitioner nowhere in the writ petition has brought to the notice of
this Court any constitutional provision, law, rule, regulation or any provision
in the Representation of People's Act, 1951 which prohibits a candidate who
has contested the Lok Sabha election and lost the same, from being
nominated or elected to the Rajya Sabha, in the absence of there being any
prohibition in law, a writ court exercising jurisdiction under Article 226 of
the Constitution of India cannot invoke its jurisdiction and issue any
mandamus as prayed for.
4. The prayer made by the petitioner is nothing but a prayer to bring into
place a statutory provision prohibiting certain class of candidates from
being nominated or elected to the Rajya Sabha.
5. This, in our considered view, is of legislative function to be
discharged by the legislative authorities and a writ court cannot issue any
mandamus to legislate or to bring into place a law in this regard.
The question involved in the writ petition being beyond the realm of
jurisdiction available to this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of
India, we see no reason to make any indulgence into the matter.
The writ petition is accordingly dismissed.
CHIEF JUSTICE
V. KAMESWAR RAO, J
SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
kks
