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Plea against EC order on Sikkim CM disqualification
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- The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought a response from the Centre and the Election Commission (EC) on a petition challenging the poll panel’s decision to reduce the disqualification period of Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang from six years to 13 months. He was convicted in a graft case.
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- Petition said that:
(1) Section 11 of the Representation of People (RP) Act: Unconstitutional as it provides arbitrary powers to the EC to remove or reduce the disqualification period.
(2) Sentenced to one year imprisonment: Sikkim CM was convicted for misappropriation of public funds. He was sentenced to one year imprisonment in December 2016 by a Sikkim Court. He was released in August last year after serving one year in jail.
(3) Disqualified as per RP Act: Mr. Tamang stood disqualified from contesting elections for a period of six years, as per the RP Act. But in the April 2019 Assembly elections, Mr. Tamang’s party, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, emerged victorious.
Sources
The Hindu