Supreme Court grants interim relief to MLA from Arunachal Pradesh Dasanglu Pul

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ITANAGAR: In a major respite for BJP MLA from Arunachal Pradesh Dasanglu Pul, whose elections to the Hayuliang assembly seat in Anjaw district of the state were declared void by the Gauhati High Court on April 25 this year, the Supreme Court has granted interim relief to her. A bench of the apex court comprising Justices A. S. Bopanna and Sanjay Karol, while hearing a special leave petition by Pul, granted interim relief to the MLA in its order on May 12. Posting Pul’s appeal for hearing on September 6, the Supreme Court ordered that no bye-election should be held in the constituency represented by her for the time being.

The court also observed that Pul will be entitled to all privileges as a member of the Legislative Assembly and to participate in all the proceedings in the House and in the committees. However, the MLA will not be entitled to cast her vote on the floor of the House or in any of the committees in which she participates as a MLA. The Itanagar bench of the Gauhati High Court on April 25 declared Pul’s election from the Hayuliang assembly seat in Anjaw district void under the Representation of People Act. Dasanglu Pul (45), the third wife of former chief minister Kalikho Pul, was re-elected to the seat in 2019 after winning it for the first time in a by-election in 2016 following her husband’s death. Congress candidate Lupalam Kri, who lost to Pul in 2019, had filed a petition in court challenging her election. Hearing the petition, the bench of Justice Nani Tagia observed that “the respondent/returned candidate had not presented her nomination paper in accordance with Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and, as such, the nomination paper of the respondent/returned candidate is liable to be rejected under Section 36 (2) (a)” of the said Act. “Hence, the improper acceptance of the nomination of the respondent or returned candidate by the returning officer has materially affected the result of the election of the respondent or returned candidate,” the court said.

Kri, in his petition, claimed that Pul’s candidature was substantially defective as she did not declare her husband’s four properties in Mumbai and two in Arunachal Pradesh in the affidavit filed by her. He claimed the returning officer had improperly accepted Pul’s candidature despite a written complaint against her. The BJP MLA submitted to the court that, in view of the legal heir certificate, Kalikho Pul’s first wife, Dangwimsai Pul, is the owner of his properties.

Due to this, she did not mention any of those properties in the election affidavit, she told the court. Meanwhile, BJP leaders from the northeastern state welcomed the interim relief granted by the apex court to Pul.

Tapir Gao, Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal East parliamentary constituency, said that in a democratic country, everyone has the right to complain and seek justice from the court. “We have full faith in the judiciary. We believe she will get her due justice,” the BJP MP said. BJP state unit president Biyuram Wahge also expressed optimism that the MLA will get justice in the next hearing. “Our party has always reposed faith in the judiciary. We welcome the court’s decision,” he said. BJP state vice president Tarh Tarak also hailed the court’s decision.

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