Woes of Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra of Vijaypur constituency are further increasing. Recently, the high court in Gwalior had a very important hearing on an election petition projecting his win. The petition was registered by an ex-Forest Minister Ramniwas Rawat who had fought against Mukesh Malhotra in the by-election at Vijaypur last year and defeated.
In the course of the hearing, the High Court formulated the issues (termed as vad prashna) that will inform the proceedings of the case. The court has ordered both parties to hand in their witness list. This order of the bench has taken into consideration the precedents of the supreme court and the directives of the election commission justifying the legal importance of the case.
The six-time MLA Ramniwas Rawat also came up alleging that his criminal record of Mukesh Malhotra was not disclosed in the appropriate election affidavit filed during the by-election. It is on this claim that Rawat filed the petition asking that the result of the election of Malhotra be annulled on grounds that the concealment is a gross flouting of the electoral laws.
Framing by the court of the issues being tried identifies an influential phase in the judicial process because it forms the course of evidence and arguments to follow in the ongoing hearings. The next hearing will take place on July 28 and at that time both parties will present their lists of witnesses to the case and be ready to elaborate on their claims.
Appearing through Advocate B.K. Sharma who was the advocate of the petitioner, gave details of the order of the court and went further to mention how grave the charges were on the incumbent MLA. The case conclusion may also have political relevance to the Vijaypur constituency with implications that the criminal record was deliberately suppressed and may hurt the image of the elected person in the minds of the constituents.
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