The Allahabad High Court has reserved its judgment on a petition filed by former BJP MP Maneka Gandhi, challenging the election of Ram Bhual Nishad from the Samajwadi Party in the recent Suktanpur Lok Sabha polls. Justice Rajan Roy of the Lucknow bench made the decision after concluding the hearing of arguments.
During the hearing, it emerged that the election petition was submitted seven days past the deadline for such filings, which cast doubt on its maintainability. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi via video conferencing, contended that the delay should be overlooked and that the petition should be evaluated based on its merits. Luthra supported his argument with several legal precedents.
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 alleges that Ram Bhual Nishad failed to disclose two criminal cases from Pipraich police station and three from Bardhalganj police station in Gorakhpur district. It seeks the annulment of Nishad’s election and requests that Maneka Gandhi be declared the elected representative. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Nishad, a former Uttar Pradesh minister from Gorakhpur, defeated Gandhi in the Sultanpur constituency.