SC rejects plea seeking to bar candidates from contesting polls from more than one seat

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking to bar persons from contesting elections from more than one seat, saying it is ultimately the Parliament’s will as to whether the political democracy in the country is furthered by granting a choice.
A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud observed that candidates may contest polls from more than one constituency due to a variety of reasons.
The bench, also comprising justices PS Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, was dealing with a petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who had sought to declare as invalid and ultra vires to the Constitution section 33(7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which allows a person to contest a general election or a group of bypolls or biennial elections from two constituencies.
“Permitting a candidate to contest from more than one seat…is a matter of legislative policy since it is ultimately the Parliament’s will as to whether the political democracy in the country is furthered by granting such a choice,” it said.
The top court observed that in the absence of any manifest arbitrariness in section 33(7) of the 1951 Act, it would not be possible for it to strike down the provision.
During the arguments, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who appeared on behalf of Upadhyay, submitted that if a candidate contests an election from two seats and gets elected from both, he or she has to vacate one seat, which will lead to a by-poll that will be an additional financial burden on the exchequer.