Nobody votes on the basis of candidate's educational qualifications except maybe in Kerala: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday remarked that when it comes to elections in India, a candidate's educational qualifications were not relevant, except maybe in the State of Kerala [Anugrah Narayan Singh v. Harsh Vardhan Bajpayee]..A bench of Justice KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna said that most voters do not look at a candidate's educational background before casting vote. "No one votes on the basis of educational qualifications in our country anyways," Justice Joseph said."Except maybe in Kerala," Justice Nagarathna weighed in.The Court was hearing a plea requesting a declaration that the election of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Harsh Vardhan Bajpayee, to the Uttar Pradesh assembly in 2017, be declared null and void..The bench then proceeded to dismiss the appeal, after noting that Bajpayee had been re-elected in 2022."Needless to say, any observation contained in the order which is impugned will not stand in the way of the High Court dealing with an election petition in case filed on its own merits", the Court clarified. .Former Indian National Congress (INC) MLA Anugrah Narayan Singh approached the Supreme Court with the plea after it was rejected by the Allahabad High Court in September 2022 on the grounds of being infructuous, as the term for which Bajpayee was elected, had already ended in 2022. .According to the petitioner, Bajpayee committed corrupt practices by not disclosing his correct educational qualifications and liabilities in the affidavits filed along with his nomination papers for the 2007, 2012, and 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections.He underlined that Bajpayee claimed to hold a BTech degree from a non-existent university called 'Seferred' in England in 2017, whereas in 2007 and 2012, he had shown that he had a BTech degree from the University of Sheffield, England. .Bajpayee had also claimed to hold an MBA degree from Delhi University in 2006, which according to the petitioner was not possible, as he had allegedly cleared the BTech examination the same year..[Read order]