The Gujarat High Court declined an urgent hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the election of BJP’s Mukesh Dalal as the winning candidate from the Surat Lok Sabha seat, which he won unopposed.
Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal stated that the grounds of the petition fell under the ambit of an election petition rather than a PIL, pointing to the need for statutory remedies.
According to a report by The Indian Express, Chief Justice Agarwal highlighted that disputes regarding the election of a candidate must be addressed through an election petition. She noted that the petitioner’s arguments highlighted flaws in the election process, which should be addressed through the appropriate legal channel.
"There is no provision in the Representation of People Act for the person to be treated differently, so do not make it a PIL issue. According to us, there is no urgency. You have approached the wrong forum," she stated.
Chief Justice Agarwal clarified that elected unopposed nominees should be treated similarly to candidates winning through the polling and vote-counting process. She stated that there was no provision in the Representation of People Act for treating unopposed nominees differently.
The PIL was filed by Bhaveshbhai Patel, a voter from the Surat constituency. Patel’s advocate argued that the absence of an option for negative voting was a concern in this case.
After BJP’s Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed from Surat, opposition leaders criticised the victory as labelled it as ‘unfair’. Mukesh Dalal emerged victorious as nomination of Congress candidate was rejected and other independent candidates backed out from contesting.
Surat is one of the 26 Lok Sabha constituencies in Gujarat, known as the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The BJP has historically dominated Gujarat’s Lok Sabha seats, winning all 26 seats in both the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In the ongoing Lok Sabha Polls 2024, all the remaining 25 Gujarat constituencies will go to polls in the third phase of voting scheduled on on May 7. The results of Lok Sabha election 2024 would be announced on June 4.
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