MP High Court Cancels Election of Tribal Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra from Vijaypur, Case Details Here

Delhi/Bhopal-  A significant and rare decision has emerged in Madhya Pradesh politics. The Madhya Pradesh High Court has declared the election of tribal Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra from the Vijaypur assembly seat null and void. The court delivered this verdict based on the concealment of information regarding criminal cases in the election affidavit. Simultaneously, the BJP candidate Ramnivas Rawat, who stood second in the by-election, has been declared elected. However, the court has also stayed the implementation of this order for 15 days to allow Malhotra an opportunity to appeal in the Supreme Court.

This verdict was delivered by the Gwalior bench of the High Court, by the single bench of Justice G.S. Ahluwalia. In its decision, the court stated that Mukesh Malhotra deliberately provided incomplete and misleading information in his election affidavit, thereby misleading the voters. The court opined that a candidate concealing crucial information related to criminal cases goes against the transparency of the electoral process and falls under the category of corrupt conduct.

Candidate Concealed Important Facts During Election: Court

In this case, the court used its powers under Sections 100 and 101 of the Representation of the People Act 1951 to decide on the election petition. Under these sections, if it is proven that a candidate concealed important facts during the election or attempted to influence voters, their election can be annulled. On this basis, the court declared the petitioner Ramnivas Rawat as the winner.

The election petition filed by Ramnivas Rawat alleged that Mukesh Malhotra did not provide correct information regarding criminal cases in his election affidavit. Based on documents and facts presented in court, it was found that Malhotra had not disclosed complete information about the cases registered against him and had made false declarations in some matters.

Concealed Conviction in Forest Offence Case

It was also revealed in court that Malhotra was convicted in a 2014 forest offence case. In this case, he was found guilty of illegally cutting 210 trees, and the court had punished him with a sentence and fine. However, no mention of this conviction was made in the election affidavit. The court considered this a serious concealment of facts.

Furthermore, incorrect information was also provided regarding two other criminal cases - RCT Number 972/2022 and Crime Number 93/2023. Malhotra had claimed in his affidavit that charges had not been framed in these cases yet, whereas it was revealed in court that charges had indeed been framed. These cases involved allegations of assault and abuse against three individuals.

Malhotra's defense argued that the omission of information in the affidavit was an unintentional error and that he lacked legal knowledge. He also stated that the responsibility of filling the nomination form was with a person named JP Dhanopiya, and he had informed him of all the facts, but Dhanopiya did not include them in the affidavit.

However, the court rejected this argument. The court noted that Mukesh Malhotra holds an MA in Social Science and an LLB degree in Law. Therefore, his claim of not knowing about the framing of charges or the importance of disclosing criminal cases could not be accepted. The court also observed that the person on whom Malhotra tried to shift the responsibility for filling the form was not produced as a witness in court. Additionally, the claim of signing the affidavit without reading it was not considered credible.

Court Annulled Assembly Membership

In its verdict, the court also stated that in a democratic system, voters have a fundamental right to know about the criminal background of a candidate. If a candidate conceals such information, they influence the voters' decision. According to Section 123(2) of the Representation of the People Act 1951, such action is considered unduly influencing voters and constitutes corrupt conduct.

The court also mentioned that the Vijaypur area is a tribal-dominated region, where trees hold religious and cultural significance. In this context, concealing the conviction in the case of cutting 210 trees was not merely a technical error but a significant fact capable of influencing the local voters.

15-Day Stay on Verdict, Opportunity to Approach Supreme Court

However, after pronouncing the verdict, the court stayed the implementation of its order for 15 days. The court clarified that this stay is granted to allow Mukesh Malhotra to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court and attempt to seek interim relief there.

Senior advocate Vivek Tankha commented on this, stating that this is possibly the first instance in Madhya Pradesh's history where the election of an MLA has been annulled and the candidate who finished second has been declared the winner. He said that in the Vijaypur case, information was provided in the first three columns of the affidavit, while some information was not recorded in the fourth column. Annulling an election based on such a minor error raises several legal questions.

Vivek Tankha also stated that an affidavit cannot be the basis for automatically declaring a losing candidate as the winner. He indicated that an appeal against this decision would be filed in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, advocate VK Sharma, representing Ramnivas Rawat, said that if a petition is filed in the Supreme Court against the verdict, a caveat will be lodged in the apex court to ensure their side is also heard.

What Was the Case?

It is noteworthy that in the November by-election for the Vijaypur assembly seat, Congress candidate Mukesh Malhotra defeated BJP's Ramnivas Rawat by 7,364 votes. According to the election results, Malhotra received 50.66 percent of the votes, while Ramnivas Rawat got 46.95 percent. Other candidates collectively received 2.39 percent of the votes.

This matter is also politically significant because Ramnivas Rawat left Congress and joined the BJP during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, subsequently contesting the by-election on a BJP ticket.

Legal experts believe this verdict could set an important precedent regarding electoral transparency and voters' rights. All eyes are now on whether Mukesh Malhotra challenges this decision in the Supreme Court and whether he gets relief from there.