HC quashes Punjab Congress MLA Sadique’s election

Chandigarh, Facing the problem of dwindling numbers, the Punjab Congress today suffered a setback with the Punjab and Haryana High Court unseating its MLA Mohammad Sadique. The out-of-the-ordinary order by Justice Naresh Kumar Sanghi has brought down the party’s strength to 42 in 117-member Assembly.The fact that Sadique, a Muslim, was a not a Scheduled Caste, weighed on the mind of the court while setting aside his election from the reserve constituency. Detailed judgment was not yet available. Sadique had contested and won the Assembly elections in 2012 from 102-Bhadaur constituency (SC) by defeating his rival by about 7,000 votes. Sadique’s election was challenged the same year by his SAD-BJP rival Darbara Singh Guru. In October 2012, the high court had framed five issues. One of the issues was whether Sadique, being Muslim, was qualified to contest the election from the Assembly constituency reserved for SCs.Guru had argued that a candidate not belonging to Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist religions could not claim the benefit of the reserved quota as Sadique had done. Sadique, on the other hand, had maintained that he had converted to Sikhism. He had insisted that his mother was a Muslim, but he never professed Islam. Rather, he had always professed Sikhism and was a Scheduled Caste. Justice Sanghi reserved the orders on January 21.Allowing the petition today, Justice Sanghi made it clear that Sadique, being a Muslin, was not qualified to contest the elections from a reserved constituency. Sadique’s counsel said they would move the SC against the HC order.

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