The Allahabad High Court recently dismissed a plea by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Maneka Gandhi challenging the election of Samajwadi Party Member of Parliament (MP) Ram Bhuwal Nishad from the Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency.
Justice Rajan Roy ruled that Gandhi’s plea was barred by limitation, as it was filed in violation of Section 81 of the Representation of People Act, 1951 (RPA), which stipulates that an election petition must be filed within 45 days from the date of the election of the returned candidate.
Additionally, Section 86 of the RPA mandates that High Courts dismiss election petitions that do not comply with Section 81. The Court noted that Gandhi’s petition was filed seven days late.
“The election petition has been filed beyond the 45-day period prescribed in Section 81 of the Act 1951. The Limitation Act, 1963, particularly Section 5, does not apply to election petitions. Section 86(1) of the Act 1951 explicitly requires the High Court/Election Judge to dismiss the petition if it fails to meet the requirements of Section 81,” the Court stated while dismissing Gandhi’s plea.
Since the election petition was deemed non-maintainable, the Court did not address the merits of the case.
“Unless the election petition is maintainable and not barred by limitation, the merits of the case cannot be considered,” the Court added.
Ram Bhuwal Nishad defeated Maneka Gandhi, who had previously represented Sultanpur, by over 43,000 votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. Gandhi received 4,01,156 votes, while Nishad secured 4,44,330 votes, leading to her defeat.
In her petition, Gandhi accused Nishad of failing to disclose ongoing criminal proceedings against him in his nomination form. She argued that Nishad declared only 8 criminal offences in Form-26 during the election process for the Sultanpur-38 Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 elections, despite having 12 unresolved cases. Gandhi contended that this non-disclosure constituted corrupt practice under Section 100 of the RPA.
Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, along with advocates Prashant Singh Atal, Amit Jaiswal, Dr. Pooja Singh, and Vijay Vikram Singh, represented Maneka Gandhi in the case.
