Kerala SEC orders reinstatement of Congress candidate's name in voter's list

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 19 (PTI) The Kerala State Election Commission (SEC) on Wednesday ordered inclusion of the name of Vyshna SL, a Congress candidate from the Muttada division of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation in the local body polls, in the voters list.

State Election Commissioner A Shahjahan quashed the decision of the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) by which her name was removed from the voters list.

The SEC said that the ERO's decision was not valid in law as he did not consider the proof submitted by Vyshna in support of her claim that she was a resident of Muttada and did not follow the procedure in accordance with the rules.

The SEC passed the order after hearing Vyshna, the complainant -- Dhanesh Kumar -- and the ERO on November 18.

The SEC conducted the hearing following the Kerala High Court's November 17 direction on her plea to have her name reinstated in the voters' list for the upcoming civic polls.

Vyshna had approached the court after receiving a notice from the SEC stating that her name had been removed from the voters' list.

The SEC's order was welcomed by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief Sunny Joseph who said that Vyshna's voting rights were restored due to the intervention of the High Court.

Terming the outcome as a victory for the rule of law, he alleged that Vyshna was denied her voting rights due to the CPI(M)'s "unfair administrative influence". PTI HMP ROH