Court Declares Arunachal MLA's Election Void For Concealing Info

The Guwahati high court's Itanagar bench has declared the election of Dasanglu Pul, a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker in Arunachal Pradesh, null and void under the Representation of People Act for concealing information about her properties in her election affidavit.

"...the respondent/returned candidate [Dasanglu Pul] had not presented her nomination paper in accordance with Section 33 of the Representation of People Act, 1951, and as such the nomination paper of the respondent/returned candidate is liable to be rejected," the court said on Tuesday.

Dasanglu Pul, 45, was re-elected from Hayuliang in May 2019 assembly polls. She earlier won the seat in a bye-election in 2016 after her husband and former chief minister Kalikho Pul's death.

Lupalum Kri, the Congress candidate who lost to Dasanglu Pul in 2019, had moved the high court challenging Ms Pul's win, saying she did not declare her husband's four properties in Mumbai and two in Arunachal Pradesh in her election affidavit.

He added that Ms Pul's nomination was accepted despite his objections. Ms Pul had said she relinquished her claim over her husband's properties.

The court in its order that was give on last Tuesday also said "improper acceptance" of Dasanglu Pul's nomination papers "materially affected" the result of her election.