SC cautions HCs against interference in election

{ SETS ASIDE U'KHAND HC ORDER

- Utkarsh Anand

The Supreme Court on Monday cautioned high courts against interfering with the election process, underscoring that constitutional courts must refrain from granting liberal interim reliefs to individuals and remain conscious of the larger public interest in ensuring smooth and uninterrupted conduct of elections.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta held that since the right to contest or challenge an election is statutory in nature, it must be strictly construed and exercised only in accordance with the law governing the field. Courts, it said, must exercise restraint once the electoral process has commenced.

“The high court must, therefore, eschew the grant of liberal interim reliefs in favour of individuals and instead remain mindful of the overarching public interest in ensuring the smooth and uninterrupted conduct of elections across the state,” the bench emphasised.

The court made these remarks while setting aside an interim order of the Uttarakhand high court that had directed the returning officer to allot an election symbol to Narendra Singh Deopa and permit him to contest the election to the post of Zila Panchayat member. Allowing an appeal filed by Sandeep Singh Bora, the Supreme Court held that the high court had exceeded its jurisdiction by interfering midway in the electoral process.