INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A five-member constitutional bench led by Acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki also provided show cause notification to offenders,
consisting of the Election Commission to furnish their composed replies within seven days.
Birgunj Metropolitan City to demolish illegally
developed structures
Demonstration versus KMC Mayor Balendra Shah at Maitighar
Balen Sah is among 123,624 prospects who were enforced fine
by the EC for not sending details of their election expenditures within the specified due date
Balen has actually demanded that areas 26 (3) and 26 (5) of the Election Commission Act that give power to the EC to take punitive action
against candidates be declared null and void as they contradict the constitution.Balen has actually stated in his writ petition that he was
stated elected on May 26 and was given winners certificate on May 30
He has claimed that he sent election expense information to the Election Commission on June 26 and that was within the prescribed period of
30 days.Election expenditure details must be sent within 30 days from the date of statement of election outcomes, as there was a public
vacation on the 30th day, he submitted the details the next day, Balen has argued.The EC had actually enforced a fine of Rs 750,000 on Balen
and other mayoral prospects who stopped working to submit election expenditure details within the specified period.Balen stated that
although the EC allowed candidates for local level chief to invest approximately Rs 750,000 he invested just Rs 394,489
He argued in his petition that the EC provided a blanket show cause notification to 123,624 candidates, including 114,958 who did not send
their election expenditure at all and 8,666 prospects who had sent their election expenditure after 30 days.Balen argued that areas 26 (1 ),
26 (2 ), and 26 (3) of the Election Commission Act had different arrangements for those who had actually submitted their election
expenditure and those who had actually not submitted their expense details.The EC had stated that it would bar prospects who stopped working
to send fines within 6 months from objecting to elections for next six years
Balen argued that the ECs blanket punitive action versus candidates under section 26 (4) of the act was incorrect
He stated if any prospect was prosecuted under Section 26 (3 ), they would be gotten rid of from their posts and such a punitive action
would deprive them of reasonable and impartial hearing, including an opportunity to be heard-- components of basic rights
Balen argued that the EC treated all categories of prospects-- those who had not sent election expense details and those who had actually
submitted election expenditure information-- similarly, which was erroneous.Balen stated the EC unjustly barred some prospects from
objecting to parliamentary elections and humiliated prospects by releasing their names on its websites.Balen argued that the EC disqualified
candidates going beyond its short envisaged by the constitution.The Election Commissions choice had unfairly infringed upon sovereign voters
right to cast their votes and elect their agents, he said.Balen looked for to repeal areas 26 (3) and 26 (5) of the Election Commission Act
arguing that these arrangements opposed constitutional provisions.He stated that Section 26 (5) of the Election Commission Act did not offer
an opportunity to the affected individual to be heard and the possibility to be heard proposed under Section 26 (4) was not enough.He argued
that sections 26 (3) and 26 (5) contradict articles 18 (1 ), 20 (8 ), 20 (9 ), 126 (1 ), and 246 (1) of the constitution and must be
declared null and void.Claiming the case to be a public interest litigation, Balen had actually looked for an interim order to stop
implementation of the EC decision versus 123,624 candidates until completion of this case.An EC officer informed THT that Balen had actually
submitted his election expenditure information on the 31st or 32nd day of the announcement of elections.Assistant Spokesperson for EC Surya
Prasad Aryal informed THT that the EC would follow the court order
He likewise stated that the EC workplace bearers would discuss the court order after the poll panel got the order from the court.According
to Aryal, almost 500 prospects who had contested regional polls and were prospects under proportional representation lists throughout the
last parliamentary and provincial elections were gotten rid of from PR lists as they had not paid fine for not submitting their election
He stated out of 123,624 candidates who were enforced fine for not submitting election expenditures details within 30 days, 136 candidates
had actually paid Rs 40 million in great to the EC.A variation of this short article appears in the print on February 15, 2023, of The
This short article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com
