The Supreme Court nullified a Delhi High Court observation regarding AAP leader Durgesh Pathak’s 2022 bypoll win, allowing him to contest future elections despite challenges to his election.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday set aside an observation of the Delhi High Court that was made while rejecting AAP leader Durgesh Pathak’s plea regarding his 2022 assembly bypoll victory.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh noted that Pathak contested the 2025 Delhi assembly elections but lost.
Rajan Tiwari had challenged Pathak’s election victory from Rajinder Nagar in the 2022 bypolls, alleging corrupt practices. However, his counsel informed the court that the petition was now infructuous and sought to withdraw it.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Delhi High Court’s previous observation while dismissing Pathak’s plea under Order 7 Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code would not be an impediment to his contesting future elections.
✔ On November 14, 2024, the Supreme Court sought Tiwari’s response and stayed the proceedings on the election petition.
✔ On November 4, 2024, the court asked Pathak to submit an affidavit stating that no FIR was registered against him except the one disclosed in Form 26 during his nomination.
✔ Tiwari challenged Pathak’s election on grounds of non-disclosure of criminal antecedents, holding an office of profit, suppression of income-tax returns, and incorrect valuation of shares in his nomination form.
Pathak, who had won the 2022 bypoll by a margin of 11,468 votes, lost the 2025 Delhi assembly elections to BJP’s Umang Bajaj by 1,231 votes.
This Supreme Court ruling clears Pathak’s legal hurdles, allowing him to contest future elections without issues.
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