Justice Rajan Roy of the Lucknow bench made this decision after concluding the arguments.
Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court (on 5th Aug) has reserved its judgment on a petition filed by former BJP MP Maneka Gandhi challenging the election of Samajwadi Party candidate Ram Bhual Nishad from the Sultanpur Lok Sabha seat in the recent elections.
Justice Rajan Roy of the Lucknow bench made this decision after concluding the arguments.
Maneka Gandhi petitioned the High Court to annul the election victory of Samajwadi Party MP Ram Bhuwal Nishad. Nishad triumphed over incumbent MP Maneka Gandhi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections for the Sultanpur seat, securing a victory by 43,174 votes.
The electoral contest in Sultanpur was intense, featuring a three-way battle among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Samajwadi Party (SP), and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
The Sultanpur constituency witnessed a fierce triangular contest among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Samajwadi Party (SP), and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Gandhi’s legal challenge calls for an investigation into these discrepancies and seeks to overturn the election results based on alleged violations of election regulations. The case is now set for judicial review, which will determine the validity of the claims and the future course of action.
During the proceedings, it was noted that the petition was submitted seven days past the deadline, raising concerns about its validity.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Maneka Gandhi via video conferencing, argued for condoning the delay and proceeding with the case based on its merits. Luthra cited several precedents to back his argument.
Gandhi’s petition claims that Nishad did not fully disclose his criminal record in the affidavit filed during his nomination. Gandhi alleges that Nishad has 12 pending criminal cases but disclosed only eight, omitting two cases from Pipraich and three from Bardhalganj police stations in Gorakhpur district.
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The petition seeks to annul Nishad’s election and requests that Gandhi be declared the winner.
Nishad, a former Uttar Pradesh minister from Gorakhpur, defeated Gandhi in the Sultanpur constituency. Gandhi had previously won the Sultanpur seat in 2019, while her son Varun Gandhi had represented the constituency in 2014.
