In a significant legal proceeding on Wednesday, the Himachal Pradesh High Court dismissed the petition filed by Harsh Mahajan, seeking to delay the hearing of his challenge to the Rajya Sabha elections until after the Telangana elections. The court, presided over by Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua, heard arguments from both sides, rejecting Mahajan’s plea which could have postponed the proceedings contingent upon the election outcomes in Telangana.
Senior advocate representing Harsh Mahajan via video conferencing argued that if their opposition, Congress leader and Supreme Court senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, wins the Rajya Sabha seat from Telangana, the petition would become irrelevant. Despite this, the court decided to proceed with the case, dismissing the request for postponement.
On the other side, senior advocate P. Chidambaram, representing Singhvi, also joined the proceedings via video conference. Chidambaram argued that a win in Telangana for Singhvi does not nullify the necessity of the petition. He cited sections 70 and rule 91 of the Representation of the People Act 1951, highlighting that if a candidate is declared victorious in two seats, they must resign from one within 14 days—adding complexity to the case.
Following extensive arguments, the court ordered both parties to prepare for a debate on Order 7 Rule 11 in the next hearing scheduled for Thursday.
In a related matter concerning the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, the court also addressed a petition challenging the election results, ordering MP Kangana Ranaut to submit her response within three weeks. The advocate representing Ranaut requested additional time for filing the response, which the court granted.
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The allegations in the petition state that independent candidate Layak Ram Negi was disqualified from running due to a missing no-objection certificate, which led to the cancellation of his nomination.
