Meenakshi Lekhi is the Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture (File)
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging the election of Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi from the New Delhi constituency during the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The plea was moved by Ramesh, who contested the 2019 election as an Independent candidate.
The bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula, while passing the judgment, said that the present election petition fundamentally lacks "material facts", which are essential to confer it with a cause of action. "Sans any underpinning material, the petitioner's broad averments are insufficient to sustain the allegations of electoral corrupt practices," it said.
The court said the petition is replete with allegations of corrupt electoral practices and lacks the requisite material facts and specific details.
The petitioner argued that respondent/Meenakshi Lekhi exceeded the permissible election expenditure limit of Rs 70 lakhs, but the basis for this claim remains vague. Throughout the petition, the central contention seems to be that the respondent understated the expenses related to election activities in the official register, the court said.
However, there was a conspicuous absence of specific details highlighting the discrepancies between the declared amounts and the alleged actual expenditures, it added.
The petitioner's claims appear to be predicated on conjectures and assumptions rather than on solid evidence, the court said further.
Appearing for Meenakshi Lekhi, advocates Harish Pandey and Anshuman Tiwari submitted that the petitioner's accusations are broad, imprecise, and lack substantial evidence or documentation supporting the claims of corrupt election practices.
Petitioner Ramesh, who appeared in person and claimed in his petition that Ms Lekhi allegedly resorted to unlawful methods to secure a win, including the casting of fraudulent votes by election staff, who impersonated legitimate voters.
The affidavit presented by the minister, detailing her assets, did not conform to the governing rules.
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