HC puts aside EC's order of debarring AAP candidate from contesting polls

In a relief to AAP candidate Narinder Singh Shergill, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday set aside the Election Commission of India's order debarring him from contesting the polls. Shergill, Aam Aadmi Party's nominee for Anandpur Sahib seat in Punjab, was disqualified from contesting any polls on the ground of not submitting details of election expenditure incurred during the 2017 assembly polls which he had contested from Mohali seat.

"The division bench of Justices Daya Chaudhary and Sudhir Mittal court has set aside the ECI order of disqualifying from contesting elections," Shergill's counsel Akshay Bhan said Thursday. The nomination papers of Shergill shall be accepted in case the same is otherwise in order, said Bhan.

In June 2018, the ECI had disqualified Shergill from contesting elections for three years for not submitting details of poll expenditure. Shergill had filed an appeal against the move with the ECI on March 29 this year. The appeal was dismissed on April 25.

Shergill filed his nomination for contesting from Anandpur Sahib seat on April 29. However, he was intimated orally that his candidature was rejected. Thereafter, Shergill moved the high court to seek relief. However, the petitioner's counsel asserted in the court that details of the expenditure for the assembly polls were submitted to the district election officer (DEO) and were duly scrutinized.

The officer had even agreed with the amount shown by the candidate against all items of expenditure, the counsel said. During the hearing, Punjab Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju was also present.