KOLKATA: The Calcutta high court has rejected a plea challenging the election of Bengal’s BJP MLA Swapan Majumdar, which called for the nullification of his victory on the grounds of alleged misrepresentation of educational qualifications in these election affidavits.
“At the end of the day, mere educational qualification is not one of the essential criteria which is required to be satisfied by a candidate to vote or be elected,” the HC ruled on Friday.The court reiterated that educational qualification, “not being an essential criterion for getting elected”, cannot be deemed a “defect of substantial character”.
The plea was filed by Gopal Seth, the chairperson of Bongaon municipality. Seth asserted that the Election Commission had not addressed his complaint, which alleged that the school where Bongaon (South) MLA Majumdar claimed to have passed class 8 had no records supporting this information.
Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, emphasising the significance of education, said, “In a country like ours, where the vast majority of people are uneducated if not illiterate, it is debatable whether educational qualification per se can be a test for the legitimacy of candidature of a person.”
The court highlighted that an uneducated electorate has the right to elect a representative, and the absence of a specific educational qualification should not be considered a substantial defect in the nomination process.
Justice Bhattacharyya’s order underscored that proving someone has faked their educational qualification requires more than the mere production of a document- a response to an RTI query by the school in this case.
“It is only a competent Criminal Court which upon proper trial and adduction of evidence can arrive at the finding that there is sufficient material to show that the private respondent practiced fraud on the ECI and the electorate,” he said.
“At the end of the day, mere educational qualification is not one of the essential criteria which is required to be satisfied by a candidate to vote or be elected,” the HC ruled on Friday.The court reiterated that educational qualification, “not being an essential criterion for getting elected”, cannot be deemed a “defect of substantial character”.
The plea was filed by Gopal Seth, the chairperson of Bongaon municipality. Seth asserted that the Election Commission had not addressed his complaint, which alleged that the school where Bongaon (South) MLA Majumdar claimed to have passed class 8 had no records supporting this information.
Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, emphasising the significance of education, said, “In a country like ours, where the vast majority of people are uneducated if not illiterate, it is debatable whether educational qualification per se can be a test for the legitimacy of candidature of a person.”
The court highlighted that an uneducated electorate has the right to elect a representative, and the absence of a specific educational qualification should not be considered a substantial defect in the nomination process.
Justice Bhattacharyya’s order underscored that proving someone has faked their educational qualification requires more than the mere production of a document- a response to an RTI query by the school in this case.
“It is only a competent Criminal Court which upon proper trial and adduction of evidence can arrive at the finding that there is sufficient material to show that the private respondent practiced fraud on the ECI and the electorate,” he said.