‘No oath’: Why was comedian Shyam Rangeela’s nomination rejected? EC Rules Explained

financialexpress.com:

The Returning Officer (RO) for the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency rejected the nomination of Comedian Shyam Rangeela, who had announced that he would contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the seat, on grounds that it was “incomplete”.

Rangeela alleged that his nomination was accepted by RO before the 3 pm deadline on Tuesday, the final day for filing nominations. However, on Wednesday, during the scrutiny of nominations, he was informed that his nomination had been rejected due to failure to take the oath, a requirement stipulated by the Constitution.

In response to Rangeela’s public statement on X Wednesday regarding this issue, Varanasi District Magistrate and RO S Rajalingam clarified the situation saying there were “deficiencies”.

“Your nomination paper has been cancelled because the affidavit submitted by you was incomplete and you did not take the oath/affirmation, a copy of the order of which has also been made available to you,” the DM said.

According to Article 84 of the Constitution, an Indian citizen who wishes to contest polls must take an oath in the presence of a person authorised by the Election Commission (EC), to bear “true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, and uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India”. That individual is usually the RO.

The EC’s Handbook for ROs, 2023, says the oath or affirmation should be made and subscribed before the date fixed by the EC for the scrutiny of nominations. It also mandates the candidate to sign the form on which the oath is written in the presence of authorised person.

“It should be borne in mind that mere signing on the paper on which the form of oath is written is not sufficient. The candidate must make the