The Gauhati High Court issued summons to BJP Member of Parliament Kripanath Mallah in response to an election petition filed by Congress candidate and Senior Advocate Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, who was defeated in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections [HRA Choudhury v. Kripanath Mallah].
Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi issued the summons based on Choudhury’s allegations that Mallah employed “corrupt practices” to win the 2024 general elections from Assam’s Karimganj parliamentary constituency.
The Court’s order stated: “Heard Shri KP Pathak, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Shri M Dutta, learned counsel for the petitioner, who has instituted this petition under Section 80 read with Sections 80A and 81 of the Representation of People Act, 1951 whereby the election of the respondent no. 1 from No. 7 Karimganj Parliamentary Constituency, Assam, 2024 has been put to challenge. Issue summons. Let steps be taken by registered post with A/D. Steps be taken within 2 working days.”
Mallah defeated Choudhury by a margin of 18,360 votes, a difference of 1.6 percent.
Choudhury’s petition alleges that Mallah engaged in multiple “corrupt practices” during the campaign and on election day. These practices included widespread rigging, booth capturing, voter intimidation, and bribery. Choudhury claims that booth capturing occurred in 47 polling stations, which accounted for almost double the margin of votes between the two candidates.
Additionally, Choudhury stated that several complaints were made to the election agent and the Election Commission of India (ECI) without any action being taken. He also raised concerns about the integrity of the voting process, noting a discrepancy in the voter turnout data. The ECI reported 11,36,538 votes were polled, which, after adding postal ballots, totaled 11,43,796 votes. However, on the counting day, the total number of votes counted was 11,47,607, resulting in an unexplained addition of 3,811 votes.
The Court will next hear the matter on August 19.
The petition was filed through advocates M Dutta, AM Ahmed, MK Hussain, with assistance from advocate Dayaar Singla.
