Supreme Court Slaps Rs2 Lakh Costs on Uttarakhand Election Commission for Justifying Names in Multiple Electoral Rolls

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed imposed costs of 2 lakh on the Uttarakhand State Election Commission (SEC) for issuing a clarification stating that a candidate’s nomination paper will not be rejected only on the ground that his name appears in the electoral roll of more than one gram panchayat, territorial constituency or municipal body. While dismissing the SEC's appeal against a stay on the clarification issued by the Uttarakhand High Court in July, a Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta questioned how the poll body could go against the statutory provisions. A High Court Division Bench of Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Alok Mahra in July this year had observed that the clarification issued by the CEC runs contrary to the express provisions of Se