Cuttack: There is no statutory provision preventing persons holding public offices from functioning as election agents of poll candidates, the Orissa High Court ruled while dismissing an election petition filed by BJP leader Brajamohan Pradhan, challenging the 2024 election victory of BJD candidate Aswini Kumar Patra from Jaleswar Assembly constituency in Odisha.
Patra defeated Pradhan by a razor-thin margin of just 319 votes. Patra secured 83,105 votes (approximately 42.37%), while Pradhan polled 82,786.
Pradhan’s petition centered on the appointment of Manas Jena, the elected Chairman of Jaleswar Panchayat Samiti, as Patra’s election and counting agent. He argued that this violated Election Commission of India guidelines, which reportedly restrict persons holding public offices from serving in such roles. Pradhan contended that the Returning Officer’s acceptance of Jena’s appointment vitiated the electoral process, warranting the declaration of Patra’s election as void and a fresh poll.
Justice Sashikanta Mishra, however, rejected these claims, ruling that neither the Constitution of India nor the Representation of the People Act, 1951, imposes any statutory disqualification on individuals holding public offices, like a panchayat samiti chairman, from acting as election or counting agents.
The court emphasised that the petitioner’s objections relied solely on executive instructions in Election Commission’s Handbook for Candidates, which lack the force of statutory law. “In the absence of any statutory prohibition and further in the absence of any pleading or proof of material effect on the election result, the contention advanced cannot be accepted,” Justice Mishra observed.
The judgment further noted that to successfully challenge an election on such grounds, the petitioner needed to specifically plead and prove that the agent’s involvement materially influenced voters or altered the outcome. No such evidence or material particulars were placed on record.
