HC reserves order on Maneka Gandhi's petition challenging election of Sultanpur MP

Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court has reserved its judgment on a petition by former BJP MP Maneka Gandhi challenging the election of Samajwadi Party's Ram Bhual Nishad from Suktanpur Lok Saba seat in the recent polls.

Justice Rajan Roy of the Lucknow bench reserved the order after the hearing of arguments was completed.

During the hearing, it was revealed that 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 former Union minister Maneka Gandhi via video conferencing, argued that the delay in filing the petition should be condoned, and the petition should be heard on its merits. Luthra cited several precedents to support his argument.

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

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

The petition seeks the annulment of Nishad's election and requests that Gandhi be declared the elected representative.

In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Nishad, a former minister in the Uttar Pradesh government and a native of Gorakhpur district, defeated Gandhi from the Sultanpur constituency.

Gandhi had won the Sultanpur seat on a BJP ticket in 2019, while her son Varun Gandhi represented the constituency in Lok Sabha in 2014.