Chandigarh ( Advocate Hemant Kumar) It has been over one month since the results of General Election to 18th Lok Sabha in respect of all 543 Parliamentary Constituencies (PCs) across the country were declared on 4 June 2024 by the concerned Returning Officers (ROs) of respective PCs.
Meanwhile, Hemant Kumar, an Advocate at Punjab & Haryana High Court and a writer on politico-legal issues told that two days after the declaration of aforementioned results, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on 6 June 2024 published a Notification in the Gazette of India (Extraordinary) in pursuance of Section 73 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 wherein the names of newly elected members of 18th Lok Sabha from all 543 PCs were duly notified.
However, the Advocate pointed out (grave) omission on the part of the “Appropriate Authority” to duly publish the declarations (made by the concerned Returning Officers-R.O.s) pertaining to the results of all elected candidates ( read under Section 67 of Representation of the People-RP Act, 1951) in the Official Gazette till date i.e. even after passage of over one month. The Advocate also cited Rule 64 and Form 21C of Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 in this regard.
Elaborating Section 67 of RP Act, 1951, Hemant told that it lays down that as soon as may be after the result of an election has been declared, the Returning Officer shall report the result to the Appropriate Authority and the Election Commission, and in the case of an election to a House of Parliament or of the Legislature of a State also to the Secretary of that House and the Appropriate Authority shall cause to be published in the Official Gazette, the declarations containing the names of the elected candidates. ( read MPs, MLAs or MLCs, as the case may be)
The Advocate also filed an online RTI with ECI in June,2024 in this regard seeking information not only about the Appropriate Authority which would duly publish the declarations in respect of all newly elected MPs of 18th Lok Sabha but also sought details about such publication of such Gazette Notification in this regard.
The reply to the same is still keenly awaited even after passage of one month.
Hemant however told as far as the case of bye-election of 21-Karnal Assembly Constituency (A.C.) in his home State of Haryana is concerned, the result of which was also declared on 4 June 2024, the aforementioned declaration was however published in the form of a Notification in Haryana Government Gazette dated 5 June 2024 which bears not only the seal & signature of Sub-Divisional Officer (Civil) cum Returning Officer of 21- Karnal A.C. but the same is also countersigned by Anurag Agarwal, IAS who was then Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Haryana cum Principal Secretary to Govt. Haryana, Elections Department ( since transferred).
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