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Synopsis

The Allahabad High Court on Monday reserved its decision on the maintainability of former BJP MP Maneka Gandhi's petition challenging the election of Samajwadi Party's Rambhual Nishad in the recent Sultanpur Lok Sabha elections, 2024.

The bench of Justice Rajan Roy reserved the order after hearing the arguments from both sides. 

As per the office report, Mrs Gandhi's present Election Petition was filed beyond the time limit prescribed in Section 81 of the Representation of People Act, 1951. However, her counsel contended that they were not aware of the criminal background of the SP leader, hence the petition was delayed and the delay should be condoned.

Representing Mrs Gandhi, along with Advocates Prashant Singh Atal, Amit Jaiswal, Dr. Pooja Singh and Vijay Vikram Singh, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra (via video conferencing) argued that the delay should be excused and the petition should be judged on its merits, citing various legal precedents to support his argument.

Mrs. Gandhi's petition claims that SP leader Rambhual Nishad did not fully disclose his criminal record in his nomination affidavit, listing only eight cases instead of twelve.

Specifically, the plea alleges that he failed to mention two cases from Pipraich police station and three from Bardhalganj police station in Gorakhpur district.

The petition calls for Mr Nishad's election to be declared void and for Mrs Gandhi to be declared the winner. Nishad, a former minister from Gorakhpur, had defeated Gandhi in the Sultanpur constituency in the recent Lok Sabha elections by 43K+ votes.

Case Title: Maneka Sanjay Gandhi v. Rambhual Nishad And Others