Gujarat HC issues notice in challenge to Ahmed Patel Rajya Sabha election

The Gujarat High Court today issued notice in a petition filed by BJP leader Balvant Singh Rajput challenging the election of the Congress’ Ahmed Patel to the Rajya Sabha..Jusitce Bela Trivedi issued notice to Patel, the Election Commission, Union Minister Smriti Irani and Amit Shah. Advocates Satyapal Jain and Nirupam Nanavaty appeared for the petitioner..Rajput, the BJP candidate who lost the Rajya Sabha poll from Gujarat, had moved the High Court against the EC’s decision to invalidate the votes of two rebel Congress MLAs..The EC’s decision paved the way for the victory of Congress candidate Patel, who got 44 votes, the minimum he needed to win. Rajput received 38 votes..In his petition, he had contended that the votes of two other Congress MLAs should also be discounted as they too had shown their ballot papers to unauthorised persons, and that he be declared the winner..The petition also contended that once the returning officer had used his discretion to accept the two votes as valid, the EC had “no power to issue any direction to the returning officer for accepting or rejecting any vote”..The matter will next come up for hearing on September 21..Story to be updated..Click here to download the Bar & Bench Android App