The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition by PA Sangma, challenging the election of Pranab Mukherjee as President.
The verdict which was delivered by a five-judge constitutional bench, was however not an unanimous decision.
Sangma’s petition was thrown out by the apex court
NDTV reported that while Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir, and Justices P Sathasivam and SA Nijjar said there was no need for regular hearings in the case, Justices J Chelameswar and Ranjan Gogoi had differed.
Justice Gogoi had said the facts in the case needed to be proved and would require a regular hearing.
Sangma had moved the court demanding that Pranab Mukherjee’s election should be declared null and void as he had held an office of profit – chairman of the Indian Statistical Institute – on the day he filed his nomination.
However, Pranab Mukherjee had rejected the claim and contented that he had resigned from his post before filing of nomination papers.
