Election of MLA Namita Mundada challenged in HC

Lokmat News Network Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court Justice Arun Pednekar has ordered notices to be issued to MLA Namita Mundada, all contesting candidates, and the Election Commission in response to the election petition challenging the election of Mundada from Kaij.

Mundada contested the BJP seat and won the election. NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) candidate Prithviraj Sathe contested against her. After losing the election Sathe filed an election petition in the bench.

Despite repeated requests, the District Electoral Officer did not provide a copy of Form 17C. Similarly, the video recording of the election process and CCTV footage were also not given despite being requested. The election officials showed favouritism towards the winning candidate. Moreover, the Election Commission did not issue any notification regarding the Kaij Assembly constituency election.

The petition argues that conducting the election through EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) violated Sections 59 and 61 of the Representation of the People Act. Section 59 mandates that voting in elections should be conducted using ballot papers. Furthermore, the petition states that the legal provisions were not followed while assigning serial numbers to the EVMs and VVPAT machines used in the election.

Instead of permanent serial numbers, stickers were affixed to the EVMs, ballot units, and VVPAT printers, raising concerns about the security of the voting machines and potentially impacting the election results. Besides, the election officials did not personally sign the seal on the EVMs.

Due to these irregularities, the petition claims that the entire election process violated Article 100 (D)(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, as well as constitutional provisions, rules, and orders. Therefore, Namita Mundada’s election be declared null and void, stated the petitioner.

After the hearing, the bench ordered notices to be issued to Mundada, along with 23 other candidates and the Election Commission. The next hearing is scheduled for February 24. Advocates Ravindra Gore and Susmita Daund are representing the petitioner.