The Election Commission today decided to file an appeal in the Supreme Court, challenging a Patna High Court order that asked it to consider countermanding elections in constituencies where candidates serving jail terms are contesting the polls. The Commission took the decision to approach the Supreme Court with a Special Leave Petition (SLP) after a one-and-half-hour meeting. Its counsel opined that the order infringes on the EC’s Constitutional authority over the election process, which includes countermanding of polls. ‘‘On the Patna High Court order, regarding the nomination of candidates in custody, and conduct of elections, the Election Commission is filing a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court at the earliest,’’ EC spokesperson A.N. Jha said. One of the counsels of the Commission, S. Muralidhar, said: ‘‘The main objection to the April 30 (Patna) HC order is taken under Article 329 of the Constitution which bars any court from interfering with the elections once the process is underway.’’ Sources say the HC order had put the EC in an uncomfortable position. As much as it would like to have ‘‘the authority’’ or legal backup to stop candidates with criminal background from contesting polls, the EC’s legal counsel advised that consenting to the Patna High Court order could open a Pandora’s box. ‘‘It goes contrary to the SC order which ruled that the EC is the final decision-making body of when and how to hold elections,’’ an EC source said. It was clearly stated in the Constitution that the EC, as a quasi-judicial authority, was the final authority on elections in this country, the source added. The Commission’s legal consultant S.K. Mehendiratta said if the courts interfere in the poll process, it would result in disrupting the entire preparations. The Patna HC had directed the EC to consider countermanding elections in constituencies contested by prisoners. A division bench of Chief Justice Ravi S. Dhawanand and Justice Shashank Kumar Singh had passed the order on PILs, seeking disqualification of those who had entered the poll fray from jail.
