Arunachal MLA’s Dasanglu candidacy declared null and void by HC

Itanagar: The Itanagar bench of the Guwahati High Court on Tuesday invalidated the election of BJP legislator Dasanglu Pul under the Representation of the People Act for concealing information about her properties in her election affidavit.

The High Court, while hearing an election petition filed by Congress candidate and opponent of the 2019 Assembly polls, declared the candidature of Hayuliang MLA Dasanglu Pul as null and void.
Lupalum Kri, who lost from Dasanglu Pul in 2019, approached the High Court challenging her victory, saying she had declared her husband’s four properties in Mumbai and two in Arunachal Pradesh in her election affidavit.

Curry filed an election petition claiming that Pul’s candidature was substantially flawed because she had concealed a material fact in her Form 26 affidavit.
He also claimed that the Returning Officer wrongly accepted the candidature of Dasinglu Pul despite a written complaint against her.

The High Court observed that ‘the respondent/returning candidate had not filed his nomination papers in terms of Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and thus, the nomination papers of the respondent/returning candidate are liable. Rejected under Section 36 (2) (a) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
The court also said that the ‘improper acceptance’ of Dasanglu Pul’s nomination papers had ‘materially affected’ the outcome of her election and with this decision, Pul is technically no longer an MLA.
However, the court clarified that the judgment can be enforced only after hearing the plea of ​​the defendant.

Meanwhile, the MLA is reportedly considering filing a petition challenging the High Court’s decision.