“Given that the constituency is in the state of Bihar, how is this petition maintainable in this high court? It would be advisable for you to withdraw the plea and approach the jurisdictional high court.”
New Delhi: Today (On Jul 2): The Delhi High Court stated that the challenge to the election of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president Chirag Paswan from the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat in Bihar should be brought before the Patna High Court.
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The court scheduled a hearing for the election petition on August 28.
Justice Vikas Mahajan, during the hearing, questioned the petitioner’s counsel on the maintainability of the case in the Delhi High Court, stating,
“Given that the constituency is in the state of Bihar, how is this petition maintainable in this high court? It would be advisable for you to withdraw the plea and approach the jurisdictional high court.”
He further emphasized, “This court does not have jurisdiction over the matter.”
He advised the petitioner’s counsel to withdraw the plea and approach the appropriate jurisdictional high court, stating that the Delhi High Court does not have jurisdiction over the matter.
The petitioner claimed in her plea that she was a victim of an alleged sexual assault orchestrated by Prince Raj and his associates, including Paswan, who is Raj’s cousin. She asserted that Paswan did not disclose this “criminal antecedent” when filing his nomination for the Lok Sabha elections. The plea also mentioned that an FIR was registered in 2021 regarding the alleged sexual assault.
It argued that filing a false affidavit or concealing information about criminal cases violates Section 125A of the Representation of the People Act, which is punishable by six months of imprisonment.
“The Act is clear. The petitioner’s standing is in question. According to the law, one must either be a voter in the constituency or a candidate to file such a petition… The merits of the case will be considered later; first, the petitioner must overcome this initial hurdle,” he argued.
Advocate Sidhant Kumar, representing the Election Commission (EC), argued that the election petition was not maintainable in Delhi under the Representation of the People Act, as the election took place in Bihar.
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the Centre, argued that according to the law, only a voter of the constituency or a candidate can file an election petition to challenge an election. He contended that the petitioner did not meet either criterion. He emphasized that the petitioner must first address the issue of standing before the merits of the case could be considered.
The petitioner’s counsel requested additional time to address the jurisdictional issue at the next hearing.
