The Election Commission of India (ECI) had in its 2004 proposal for electoral reforms recommended that no candidate should be allowed to contest elections from more than one constituency at a time. Yet, the law related to the subject is yet to be amended and it continues to permit individuals to contest from two constituencies, the Madras High Court highlighted on Tuesday.
First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan pointed out that the ECI, in its 2024 proposal, had also stated that if dual constituency candidacy had to be continued, then the candidates concerned must be asked to bear the expenses for the byelections if they happened to vacate one of the two seats after winning from both.
The ECI’s report read: “There have been several cases where a person contests election from two constituencies, and wins from both. In such a situation, he vacates the seat in one of the two constituencies. The consequence is that a bye-election would be required from one constituency involving avoidable labour and expenditure on the conduct of that bye-election.”
Therefore, the Commission had recommended that either the candidates should not be allowed to contest from more than one constituency or alternatively, those contesting from two seats must be directed to deposit a fixed amount, such as ₹5 lakh for State Assembly elections and ₹10 lakh for Lok Sabha polls, in order to cover the expenditure involved in holding a bypoll.
