Maneka Gandhi's Challenge To MP Election In UP's Sultanpur Dismissed By Court

The Allahabad High Court today dismissed a petition by former BJP MP Maneka Gandhi challenging the election of Samajwadi Party's Ram Bhual Nishad from Uttar Pradesh's Sultanpur Lok Sabha seat in the recent elections.

The election petition was filed seven days after the deadline for filing such pleas had expired, raising questions about its maintainability.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Ms Gandhi, had said delay in filing the petition should be condoned and the petition should be heard on its merits. Mr Luthra cited several precedents to support his argument.

In her petition, Ms Gandhi primarily alleged that Mr Nishad concealed information about his criminal history in the affidavit submitted during his nomination. She alleged Mr Nishad has 12 criminal cases pending against him, but he disclosed only eight cases in his affidavit.

The petition said Mr Nishad did not disclose two criminal cases from Pipraich police station and three from Bardhalganj police station in Gorakhpur district.

Ms Gandhi sought a direction to cancel Mr Nishad's election and requested that she be declared the elected representative.

In the Lok Sabha election, Mr Nishad, a former minister in the UP government and a resident of Gorakhpur district, had defeated Ms Gandhi from Sultanpur constituency. She had won the Sultanpur seat on a BJP ticket in 2019, while her son Varun Gandhi represented the constituency in Lok Sabha in 2014.