The Madhya Pradesh High Court at Gwalior has dismissed an election petition challenging the victory of Congress leader Mukesh Malhotra in the Vijaypur Assembly by-election. The petition alleged that the returned candidate had concealed details of several criminal cases in his nomination affidavit.
Justice G. S. Ahluwalia held that the allegations placed before the court were insufficient to invalidate the election result under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
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Background of the Case
The dispute arose from the by-election to Assembly Constituency No. 02, Vijaypur in Sheopur district.
The petitioner, Ramniwas Rawat, had earlier served multiple terms as an MLA and contested the by-poll after the seat fell vacant. The by-election was held following political developments that led to the vacancy in the constituency.
Mukesh Malhotra contested the election as the candidate of the Indian National Congress and was declared elected after the counting of votes on 23 November 2024.
Rawat later approached the High Court through an election petition under Sections 80 and 81 of the Representation of the People Act seeking two main reliefs:
- Declaration that Malhotra’s election was void.
- A declaration that Rawat himself should be treated as the duly elected candidate.
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Allegations Raised in the Petition
The central allegation in the petition was that the returned candidate had not fully disclosed his criminal background in Form 26, which candidates must submit with their nomination papers.
According to the petitioner, several criminal cases were either incompletely disclosed or not mentioned at all in the affidavit filed by Malhotra.
The petition claimed that:
- Two criminal cases were mentioned but without complete details about the stage of proceedings.
- Four other cases, including earlier convictions and criminal proceedings, were not disclosed in the affidavit.
The petitioner argued that such non-disclosure amounted to suppression of material facts from voters and therefore constituted a “corrupt practice” under the Representation of the People Act.
It was also pointed out that the margin between the two candidates was relatively narrow, and the petitioner claimed the alleged concealment had affected the election result.
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Arguments by the Returned Candidate
Mukesh Malhotra contested the allegations and sought dismissal of the election petition.
His counsel argued that the law requires disclosure only in specific situations, such as when charges have been framed in pending criminal cases or when a conviction carries imprisonment of more than one year.
It was submitted that some cases cited by the petitioner either resulted in minor punishment or were already disclosed in the affidavit. Therefore, the requirements under Section 33-A of the Representation of the People Act were not violated.
The returned candidate also argued that the petition lacked necessary pleadings explaining how the alleged non-disclosure had materially affected the election result, which is a mandatory requirement for challenging an election.
Court’s Observations
The High Court examined the pleadings and the legal requirements governing election petitions.
The court discussed the legal framework related to disclosure of criminal cases and also referred to earlier Supreme Court rulings on procedural compliance in election petitions.
Justice Ahluwalia noted that election law requires strict proof of statutory grounds before an election can be set aside.
The bench emphasised that merely alleging incomplete disclosure is not enough unless it satisfies the legal requirements laid down under the Representation of the People Act.
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Decision of the Court
After considering the submissions and the legal provisions, the Madhya Pradesh High Court declined to interfere with the election result.
The court ultimately dismissed the election petition filed by Ramniwas Rawat, thereby upholding the election of Mukesh Malhotra from the Vijaypur Assembly constituency.
Case Title: Ramniwas Rawat v. Mukesh Malhotra & Others
Case No.: Election Petition No. 24 of 2024
Decision Date: 09 March 2026
