The Election Commission on Tuesday set up a three-member committee to examine the Gujarat High Court judgment that invalidated the election of State Law and Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama to the Gujarat Assembly in 2017.
Earlier in the day, the High Court ruled that Mr. Chudasama’s win in the Dholka Assembly seat was based on corrupt practices, including irregularities in the counting of postal ballots.
The EC said in a statement that Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, who is in the U.S., spoke to secretary general Umesh Sinha about the matter and ordered the setting up of a committee. The committee headed by Mr. Sinha and including deputy Election Commissioner Chandra Bhushan and Director (law) Vijay Pandey, would “examine the details of the judgment and present before the Commission at the earliest”, the EC said.
It said the direction to the Gujarat government to take disciplinary action against then returning officer Dhaval Jani had been conveyed on the EC’s behest.
“The proceedings are under way. Mr. Jani was also removed from election duties during the Lok Sabha elections in view of the interim order of the High Court in the matter,” the ECI said.
Mr. Chudasama (BJP) had won by a narrow margin of 327 votes. Congress candidate Ashwin Rathod had challenged the result alleging in his petition that the RO had illegally rejected 429 votes cast through postal ballot.
