Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Harsh Mahajan. (File Photo)
The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Monday rejected the plea of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Harsh Mahajan. In which the BJP MP appealed to reject the petition of Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi regarding Rajya Sabha elections.
In fact, Abhishek Manu Singhvi challenged the process adopted to decide the winner of the Rajya Sabha elections held on February 27 in the state when both the candidates got 34 votes each. During the hearing in the High Court, a bench of Justice Jyots R Duani said that I do not find any merit in the contention of the respondent (Harsh Mahajan) to dismiss the election petition and therefore his petition is dismissed.
Winner determined by lottery
Abhishek Manu Singhvi filed the petition in the High Court on April 6, more than five weeks after losing the election to Harsh Mahajan. In which he challenged the election officer’s interpretation of the lottery rules after the number of votes were tied. The winner was declared by lottery and as per the procedure adopted by the Returning Officer, the candidate whose name came out of the lottery was declared defeated. After which Harsh Mahajan was declared the winner.
Both the candidates got equal number of votes
At the time of the Rajya Sabha elections, the Congress strength was 40 and it also had the support of three independent MLAs. But both candidates got 34 votes each as nine MLAs, six Congress rebels and three independents supported BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan. The order said that all the facts required under the law have been disclosed in the election petition.
Accused of non-compliance with rules
The order said that the cause of action was framed in a petition alleging non-compliance of statutory provisions by the Returning Officer, who invoked Rules 75 (4) and 81 (3) of the Rules of Election Conduct. Senior counsel P Chidambaram and Prashanto Sen appeared for Abhishek Manu Singhvi through video conference.
