Gujarat: HC refuses to interfere in plea over rejection of nomination

The petitioner, Rajeshbhai Manvani (48), a businessman, said that he went to the RO’s office on February 6 at 2:30 pm to submit his nomination form.

The Gujarat High Court on February 18 refused to interfere in the rejection of a nomination form of a prospective candidate for Vadodara Municipal Corporation polls, who missed the form submission deadline after he was allegedly kept waiting outside in the lobby so as to maintain social distancing inside the returning officer’s office.

The order, made public on Friday, by a division bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Ilesh Vora, held that as laid down in Article 243­-O (b) of the Constitution of India, no election to any Panchayat shall be called in question except by an election petition presented to such authority and in such manner as is provided for by or under any law made by the legislature of a state.

The petitioner, Rajeshbhai Manvani (48), a businessman, said that he went to the RO’s office on February 6 at 2:30 pm to submit his nomination form. The RO had then requested Manvani to “maintain social distance” and to “wait in the lobby.”

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