New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to AAP leader and former chief minister Atishi on a plea challenging her election win from Kalkaji constituency, accusing her of corrupt practices.
Justice Jyoti Singh also issued notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Delhi Police and the returning officer of Kalkaji assembly constituency. The court asked the respondents to file their responses to the petition and posted the hearing on July 30.
The ECI counsel and the returning officer, however,
said they couldn’t have been made parties to the election petition as per law.
The court noted it would be open for them to mention their objections in their replies.
In the interim, the court directed the ECI, the returning officer and the police to preserve all the records of the Kalkaji constituency polls, and said they could seek a modification of its order in future. Petitioners Kamaljit Singh Duggal and Ayush Rana, who live in Kalkaji, have challenged the election win of Atishi, claiming she and her polling agents indulged in corrupt practices.
The petition, filed through advocate T Singhdev, sought to declare her election null and void. Atishi won from the Kalkaji seat defeating her BJP rival Ramesh Bidhuri by 3,521 votes.
Voting for the election was held on February 5 and results were declared on February 8.
The plea alleged that on February 4, a day before the polling was to be held, Atishi’s close associates were caught with Rs 5 lakhs cash in the constituency and were allegedly acting on her directions to bribe voters to “buy votes” in her favour.
The AAP leader was alleged to have done “bribery” under Section I23 (I)(A) of the Representative of People Act.
Atishi, the plea said, used her status as the then chief minister to gain an unfair advantage over other candidates contesting from Kalkaji.
“The respondent number 1 (Atishi) misused her official position of power to subsidise her electioneering campaign and expand her reach to voters by using official vehicles and governmental employees to canvas for her support,” it alleged.