KOCHI: It is the end of electoral dreams for solar scam accused Saritha S Nair as the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday rejected her nomination papers to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as an Independent candidate.
Saritha had filed nomination papers in Wayanad and Ernakulam constituencies, in an embarrassment to the Congress as she was contesting against none other than the party president Rahul Gandhi. The Returning Officers (RO) rejected the nomination papers on the grounds that she was convicted in criminal cases.
Saritha was punished in two cases in connection with the solar scam for three years each, amounting to six years in total. As per the rule, a person punished in a criminal case will be able to contest in elections only after completing six years of punishment.
Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act states: “A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years [other than any offence referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2)] shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.” The EC rejected Saritha’s contention that the cases against her were stayed by the court.