Chandigarh, December 13:
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has instructed that during municipal elections for the concerned Municipal Corporations, the responsible officials must fully adhere to the guidelines issued by the Punjab State Election Commission regarding the videography of the nomination process until the withdrawal stage.
The directive was issued by a bench comprising Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Kirti Singh while resolving a petition filed by Vijay Kumar and other candidates contesting the upcoming Municipal Elections scheduled for December 21.
The petitioners, represented by advocates Ankush Verma and CK Jangra, claimed that despite their compliance with the nomination process, they were being obstructed by workers and leaders of the ruling AAP Party, along with police officials, who allegedly prevented them and other candidates in Patiala district from filing their nominations and subjected them to harassment and threats.
Additionally, the Punjab State Election Commission, on the evening of December 11, issued a corrigendum revising the last date for submitting Forms 1 and 2 for election symbols to December 12, 2024, instead of the previously announced date of December 14, 2024. This abrupt change caused significant inconvenience to candidates participating in the Municipal Elections.
The petitioners sought instructions for the State of Punjab and the State Election Commission to ensure the videography of the nomination process up to the withdrawal date and to refrain from rejecting nomination papers on unwarranted grounds, in accordance with Sections 38 and 41 of the Punjab State Election Commission Act, 1994.
After hearing the case, the bench directed the Punjab State Election Commission to address the petitioners’ representation promptly and lawfully by Thursday.
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