Today, On 30th April, The Delhi High Court dismissed a plea challenging Chirag Paswan’s election as MP from Hajipur, Bihar, citing “lack of territorial jurisdiction”. The court held it had no authority to entertain plea related to Bihar constituencies.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court dismissed a challenge to the election of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president Chirag Paswan from the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat in Bihar.
Justice Amit Bansal stated that because the election took place in Bihar, the high court lacked the authority to rule on the election petition.
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The court held,
“Accordingly, the election petition is dismissed on the ground of lack of territorial jurisdiction,”
However, the court granted the petitioner the freedom to pursue other legal remedies.
The petitioner claimed to be a survivor of sexual assault, which was committed at the “insistence” of Prince Raj and his associates, including his cousin Paswan, who allegedly did not disclose this “criminal antecedent” when filing his nomination for the polls.
She argued that filing a false affidavit or concealing any information regarding criminal cases violates Section 125A of the Representation of the People Act and is punishable with six months of imprisonment.
Advocate Sidhant Kumar, representing the Election Commission of India, argued that the election petition was not maintainable in Delhi under the Representation of the People Act, as the election was held in Bihar.
Chirag Paswan, president of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), achieved a notable victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Hajipur constituency in Bihar.
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He surpassed his closest competitor, Shiv Chandra Ram of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), by a margin of 170,105 votes. Paswan obtained 615,718 votes, while Ram received 445,613 votes.
This win signifies Paswan’s return to the Lok Sabha, having previously represented the Jamui constituency. The Hajipur seat carries personal importance, as it was a stronghold of his late father, Ram Vilas Paswan, who won it on numerous occasions. In the 2019 elections, Chirag’s uncle, Pashupati Kumar Paras, secured the victory from Hajipur.