HP HC dismisses Congress leader's plea against BJP MLA's 2022 win

The Himachal Pradesh High Court dismissed an election petition by Congress leader Ram Lal Thakur against BJP MLA Randhir Sharma's 2022 win. The plea was rejected on technical grounds due to a non-compliant affidavit that Thakur failed to rectify.

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has dismissed an election petition filed by former Congress minister Ram Lal Thakur challenging the election of BJP MLA and party chief spokesperson Randhir Sharma from the Sri Naina Devi Ji Assembly constituency in the 2022 Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections. Justice Sandeep Sharma dismissed the election petition on August 18, with the order being made available on Saturday, holding that Thakur had failed to comply with the court's earlier direction to file an affidavit strictly in accordance with the statutory requirements.

Details of the Election Challenge

Thakur had challenged Sharma's election, alleging irregularities in the counting and rejection of postal ballots as well as other violations during the election process. He had also alleged corrupt practices, including the distribution of money and liquor to influence voters. Sharma had defeated Thakur by a narrow margin of 171 votes in the November 2022 election. According to the election petition, 2,816 postal ballots were received, of which 341 were declared invalid. Of the remaining 2,475 valid ballots, Thakur secured 499 votes while Sharma polled 525 votes. Thakur had contended that irregularities in the counting and rejection of postal ballots could have affected the final outcome.

Petition Dismissed on Technical Grounds

The High Court had earlier found deficiencies in the affidavit accompanying the election petition. On September 26, 2025, the court granted Thakur an opportunity to file a fresh affidavit in compliance with Section 83(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, Rule 94A of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, and the prescribed Form 25.

The court had directed Thakur to rectify the deficiencies by October 15, 2025, and made it clear that failure to comply with the order would lead to dismissal of the election petition under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Although Thakur filed a fresh affidavit on October 13, 2025, Sharma raised objections, arguing that it still did not comply with the mandatory requirements of Form 25. On examining the fresh affidavit, the High Court found that it failed to conform to the prescribed statutory format. The court also noted inconsistencies in the verification of allegations relating to corrupt practices, with similar allegations being verified in different portions of the affidavits as being based on the petitioner's personal knowledge and, elsewhere, on information received by him. Holding that the petitioner had failed to cure the defects in accordance with its earlier directions, the High Court enforced its conditional order and dismissed the election petition. All pending applications connected with the election petition were also disposed of. (ANI)

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