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The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday declared the election of a Congress MLA null and void for suppressing information about pending criminal cases against him in election affidavits during the bypoll of the Vijaypur Assembly seat in November 2024. The court also declared Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ram Niwas Rawat, then a State Cabinet Minister and runner-up, as the elected MLA from the seat.
A Single Bench of Justice Gurpal Singh Ahluwalia in Gwalior gave the verdict in an Election Petition filed by Mr. Rawat and said that Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra has “deliberately and knowingly suppressed material information regarding framing of charges in two pending criminal cases and misled the electorate”.
The court also noted that Mr. Malhotra had also given false information about the nature of allegations in another case in which he was accused of assaulting three people, including two women, but only disclosed it as a case of “verbal altercation”.
The court, however, granted Mr. Malhotra a week’s time if he wants to challenge the order in the Supreme Court.
Mr. Malhotra, a tribal leader, had defeated Mr. Rawat by 7,364 votes in the fiercely contested by-election in which heavyweights of both parties had campaigned and traded charges at each other. The constituency falls under Sheopur district.
The bypoll was necessitated after Mr. Rawat, himself a six-term Congress MLA and a senior OBC leader from the Chambal region, moved to the ruling party during the Lok Sabha elections of 2024. He had later resigned from his legislative membership after he was made the Environment and Forest Minister in July that year.
Mr. Rawat, however, had to resign from the Cabinet following his defeat in the by-election.
In the judgement, the court also said, “It is held that such suppression has materially created an impediment in the free exercise of electoral rights, and has deprived the voters to make an informed and advised choice and therefore, this act of suppression has resulted in direct or indirect interference with free exercise of right to vote by the electorate and since, it was within the knowledge of the respondent Mukesh Malhotra about the pending cases and whether charges have been framed, this act amounts to undue influence, necessitating the declaration of his result as null and void.”
“Since, the Election Petitioner had also sought a declaration that he be declared as elected as he was the candidate who had secured second highest votes, therefore, Ram Niwas Rawat is declared elected as MLA from Vijaypur Assembly constituency. as Returning Officer are directed 60. The Election Commission as well as Returning Officer are directed to complete the formalities in this regard,” it added.
Responding to the verdict, Mr. Rawat said that his rival had “concealed details of criminal cases in the affidavit submitted with his nomination papers”. He also took to X and wrote “Satyamev Jayate”.
Congress, however, has reacted sharply on the developments and accused the BJP of using “full force” to get the election of a tribal MLA cancelled.
“The verdict reflects the ideology of the BJP which could not tolerate that how a tribal leader become an MLA from a General seat. And placing a man who was defeated by thousands of votes on the MLA post shows the BJP mindset that they do not like the Adivasi and Dalits. This verdict is the beginning of the BJP’s end,” said State Congress president Jitu Patwari, accusing the ruling party of “corrupt practices”.
Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Umang Singhar said, “The Congress, after consulting with lawyers and understanding the legal implications, will appeal against this decision in the Supreme Court. The people of Vijaypur gave the Congress its mandate. The people are still with us. We hope the Supreme Court will grant us justice.”
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