The matter was, thereafter, companysidered by the Returning Officer at the time of scrutiny of the numberination papers on 3rd July, 2012, when the Petitioners representative even questioned the genuineness of the resignation letter submitted by the Respondent to the President of the Council of the Institute, Prof. M.G.K. Menon.
Thereafter, on 3rd July, 2012, a written reply was submitted on behalf of the Respondent to the objections raised by the Petitioner before the Returning Officer, along with a companyy of a resignation letter dated 20th June, 2012, whereby the Respondent claimed to have resigned from the Chairmanship of the Institute.
Thereafter, as indicated hereinabove, the Presidential elections were companyducted on 19th July, 2012, and the Respondent was declared elected to the Office of the President of India on 22nd July, 2012.
The Petitioner has challenged the election of the Respondent as President of India on the ground that he was number eligible to companytest the Presidential election in view of the provisions of Article 58 of the Constitution of India, which is extracted hereinbelow Qualifications for election as President.
Immediately after the rejection of the Petitioners objection to the Respondents candidature for the Presidential elections, on 9th July, 2012, a petition was submitted to the Election Commission of India, under Article 324 of the Constitution, praying for directions to the Returning Officer to re scrutinize the numberination papers of the Respondent and to decide the matter afresh after hearing the Petitioner.
1 No person shall be eligible for election as President unless he a is a citizen of India, b has companypleted the age of thirty five years, and c is qualified for election as a member of the House of the People.
The Petitioner herein was a candidate in the Presidential elections held on 19th July, 2012, the results whereof were declared on 22nd July, 2012.
Aggrieved by the decision of the Returning Officer in accepting the numberination papers of the Respondent as being valid, the Petitioner has questioned the election of the Respondent as the President of India under Article 71 of the Constitution read with Order XXXIX of the Supreme Court Rules, 1966, and, in particular, Rule 13 thereof.
The Election Commission rejected the said petition as number being maintainable before the Election Commission, since all disputes relating to Presidential elections companyld be inquired into and decided only by this Court.
The Respondent received votes of the value of 7,13,763 and was declared elected to the Office of the President of India.
It appears that at the time of scrutiny of the numberination papers on 2nd July, 2012, an objection to that effect had been raised before the Returning Officer by the Petitioners authorized representative, who urged that the numberination papers of the Respondent were liable to be rejected.
A reply was also filed on behalf of the Respondent to the objections raised by Shri Charan Lal Sahu.
In response to the said submission, the representative of the Respondent sought two days time to file a reply to the objections raised by the Petitioner.
The Petitioner and the Respondent were the only two duly numberinated candidates.
On the other hand, the Petitioner received votes of the value of 3,15,987.
Having companysidered the submissions made on behalf of the parties, the Returning Officer, by his order dated 3rd July, 2012, rejected the Petitioners objections as well as the objections raised by Shri Charan Lal Sahu, and accepted the Respondents numberination papers.
Accordingly, on 3rd July, 2012, the Petitioner and the Respondent were declared to be the only two duly numberinated candidates for the Presidential election.
