"Day Wasted": Bombay High Court Dismisses Plea Challenging Maharashtra Election Results

A division bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking to nullify the November 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election results. The petition challenged the legitimacy of approximately 76 lakh votes allegedly cast after the official poll-closing time of 6 pm.

Shortly after, the Election Commission sources told NDTV that the "doubts raised by the Leader of Opposition (Rahul Gandhi) and Congress chief (M Kharge) have been settled" by the court.

The petition, filed by Mumbai resident Chetan Chandrakant Ahire and represented by advocate Prakash Ambedkar of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, alleged procedural irregularities and a lack of transparency concerning vote count post 6 pm. 

The petition had highlighted concerns about a significant and unexplained spike in late voting, which, the petitioners argued, undermined public faith in the electoral process.  

During hearings, the bench, comprising Justices GS Kulkarni and Arif Doctor, raised questions about why similar voting patterns in previous general elections, including the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, were never challenged. 

The court also observed, "unless evidence showed post-6 pm polling results specifically aiding any winning candidate, the petition lacked substantial merit."

While rejecting the petition, the bench refrained from imposing costs on the petitioners, despite noting the extent of time spent on hearing the matter. The court said, "A whole day of this court was wasted in hearing the petition. Although costs should be imposed on them, we refrain from doing so."

The lawyer representing Election Commission had earlier expressed objections, questioning the petitioner's locus standi and the absence of the winning candidates as parties to the lawsuit. 

The bench accepted many of these points while dismissing the petition.

(With inputs from Akhilesh Sharma)