On Monday, the Delhi High Court identified numerous errors in AAP leader Somnath Bharti’s petition, which challenges BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj’s election in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on allegations of corrupt practices
The court instructed Bharti to submit a corrected version.
Justice Manmeet PS Arora noted that the petition contained many typographical mistakes, making it difficult to comprehend the claims. Furthermore, the references to respondents in the petition did not match those listed in the memo of parties and synopsis.
The court granted Bharti 10 days to file a corrected petition and scheduled the next hearing for August 14. When Bharti’s counsel requested that the court issue notices to the respondents, the judge responded, “There are too many mistakes. Correct the petition first. I can’t issue notice like this. I will simply adjourn it. Please file a corrected petition.”
Both Bharti and Swaraj contested the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat, with Bharti receiving 3,74,815 votes and Swaraj securing 4,53,185 votes, according to the returning officer.
The petition, filed under Sections 80 and 81 of the Representation of the People Act, accused Swaraj, her election agent, and others of engaging in corrupt practices. It also claimed that former AAP minister Raaj Kumar Anand contested the election on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket to help Swaraj by diminishing Bharti’s vote share. The plea stated that Anand, who campaigned for Bharti until April 9, resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party on April 10 and later joined the BJP on July 10.
On election day, Bharti was reportedly shocked to find Swaraj’s booth agents distributing pamphlets displaying her ballot number, photo, election symbol, and a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking voters to support Ballot no. 1. The petition alleged that such actions constituted corrupt practices and that the issue was reported to the returning officer, but no action was taken.
(With inputs from agency)
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