Barred By Limitation: Allahabad HC Dismisses Maneka Gandhi's Election Petition Against MP Ram Bhuwal Nishad

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Ram Bhuwal Nishad won against Maneka Gandhi by a margin of over 43,000 votes, securing 4,44,330 votes to Gandhi's 4,01,156. Gandhi's petition had alleged that Nishad failed to disclose the full extent of his criminal proceedings in his nomination form. She contended that Nishad declared only 8 criminal cases in Form-26, while he had 12 unresolved cases, which she argued constituted a corrupt practice under Section 100 of the RPA.

The Court said that it is mandatory for the High Courts to dismiss election petitions that do not adhere to the timeframe set forth in Section 81. In this case, Gandhi's petition was filed seven days late.

A bench of Justice Rajan Roy ruled, “it is apparent that the Limitation Act, 1963, especially Section 5 thereof, is not applicable to election petitions. In fact, the applicability appears to be specifically excluded in view of the provision of Section 86 (1) of the Act 1951 which makes it mandatory for the High Court/ Election Judge to dismiss the election petition if it is not in conformity with the provision of Section 81 of the Act 1951.”

Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra appeared for the Petitioner.

The Court noted, "The election petition has apparently been filed beyond the period of 45 days prescribed in Section 81 of the Act 1951. Section 86 of the Act 1951 provides that the High Court shall dismiss an election petition which does not comply with the provision of Section 81 or Section 82 or Section 117 of the Act 1951."

Since the petition was not deemed maintainable due to the delay, the Court did not address the merits of the case. “Unless and until the election petition is maintainable and is not barred by limitation, the merits of the matter cannot be considered.” the Court stated.

Cause Title: Maneka Sanjay Gandhi v. Rambhual Nishad & Ors., [2024:AHC-LKO:56237]

Appearance:

Petitioner: Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, along with advocates Prashant Singh Atal, Amit Jaiswal, Dr. Pooja Singh, and Vijay Vikram Singh