August 29th 2024.
On Thursday, the Election Commission of India announced the start of the second phase of the 3-phased Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. This marks an important step in the democratic process of electing leaders to represent the people of this region.
According to the notification issued by the ECI, candidates can now begin filling out their nomination papers for the second phase. The deadline for submitting these papers is September 5, and the scrutiny process will take place on September 6. Candidates have until September 9 to withdraw their nomination forms.
The second phase of polling will take place on September 25, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the results for all phases will be declared on October 4. Several seats will be contested in this phase, including Kangan, Ganderbal, Hazratbal, Khanyar, Habba Kadal, Lal Chowk, Channapora, Zadibal, Eidgah, Central Shalteng, Budgam, Beerwah, Khansahib, Chrar-i-Sharief, Chadoora, Gulabgarh, Reasi, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Kalakote-Sunderbani, Nowshera Rajouri, Budhal, Thannamandi, Surankote, Poonch Haveli, and Mendhar.
The scrutiny of nomination papers for the first phase was completed on Wednesday, and unfortunately, 34 candidates had their papers rejected due to missing documents. One of the candidates whose papers were rejected was Sarjan Ahmad Wagay, also known as Sarjan Barkati. It was determined that his nomination papers lacked an oath certificate, which is a mandatory requirement for candidates under detention.
A spokesperson for the authorities stated that Wagay's authorised representative submitted the nomination papers on August 27, 2024, at 2:55 p.m. in the office of the Returning Officer in 36 Zainapora. However, upon inspection, it was discovered that the papers did not include an oath certificate, which is supposed to be signed by the Superintendent of Central Jail Srinagar. This is because Wagay is currently under detention in the jail.
The spokesperson further explained that the oath certificate should have been signed by Wagay himself, in the presence of the Jail Superintendent, before the date of scrutiny. The certificate could then be submitted at the time of scrutiny, as per the instructions of the Returning Officer. However, despite being given a checklist and a deadline of 11 a.m. on August 28, 2024, Wagay's representative failed to produce the necessary documents.
Furthermore, the only oath certificate that was eventually submitted was through WhatsApp at 1:48 p.m., which is not an acceptable mode of submission. And even then, the certificate was incomplete and did not include the required certificate from the Jail Superintendent.
Given the importance of the oath under Section 16 of the JK Reorganisation Act 2019, the Returning Officer had no choice but to reject Wagay's nomination papers during the scrutiny process. While this may be disappointing for Wagay and his supporters, it is important to ensure that all candidates follow the necessary procedures to maintain the integrity of the election process.
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