Allahabad High Court rejects Maneka Gandhi's plea against election of SP candidate, says it is time-barred

Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed former Union minister Maneka Gandhi's plea challenging the election of Samajwadi Party's Ram Bhual Nishad from Sultanpur Lok Sabha seat, stating that the petition is time-barred.

The High Court's Lucknow bench held that the petition was filed after the deadline of 45 days, the statutory period for filing such cases before the HC, and hence the plea cannot be heard on merit.

Justice Rajan Rai gave the verdict on the election petition filed by Maneka Gandhi after reserving the order on August 5 on the maintainability of the petition.

Appearing through video conferencing for Maneka Gandhi, senior Supreme Court advocate Siddharth Luthra had on August 5 stressed before the bench that the plea should be decided on merit because Nishad had deprived the voters of their right to know his full criminal history.

He had argued that the delay in filing the petition should be condoned.

It had been pleaded that 12 criminal cases were pending against Nishad, whereas he had given information about only eight cases in his affidavit.

Turning down the plea of Maneka Gandhi, the court said, "This election petition being time-barred by Section 81 read with Section 86 of the Representation of People Act 1951 and Order VII Rule 11(d) of the Code of Civil Procedure is liable to be dismissed." Maneka Gandhi, who lost to Nishad by a margin of 43,174 votes, filed the election petition late last month.