Overview
- A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar on November 6 dismissed Poonam's appeal and upheld her disqualification.
- The Court held that failing to reveal a prior conviction is suppression of material information that renders the election void.
- It ruled that the seriousness of the offence and whether the non-disclosure affected the result are irrelevant to disqualification.
- Poonam had not disclosed a one-year conviction under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, violating Rule 24-A(1) of the 1994 Madhya Pradesh rules.
- Her nomination was deemed improperly accepted, her election was set aside, and a subsequent bypoll was held in which she contested and lost.