The Supreme Court on Friday postponed the hearing of former Union minister Maneka Gandhi’s petition contesting the election results from Sultanpur Lok Sabha seat, setting a new date of September 30. Gandhi, a veteran politician, lost the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to Samajwadi Party’s Ram Bhual Nishad by a margin of 43,174 votes.
Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan allowed Gandhi’s counsel, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, additional time to prepare a detailed submission on the legal nuances concerning the timing restrictions applied to election petitions. This directive came as part of Gandhi’s challenge against the 45-day limitation for filing such petitions, a constraint she argues should be reconsidered.
The origin of Gandhi’s Supreme Court appeal is an August 14 ruling by the Allahabad High Court, which dismissed her initial petition as time-barred. According to the High Court’s Lucknow bench, Gandhi’s filing exceeded the 45-day statutory limit imposed for raising electoral disputes, thus barring it from being adjudicated on its merits.
In her challenge, Gandhi claims that Nishad failed to fully disclose his criminal record during the election, misleading voters about his legal entanglements. Despite reporting only eight cases in his affidavit, Gandhi alleges that Nishad actually has 12 pending criminal cases against him.
However, the High Court dismissed her election petition on technical grounds, citing it as time-barred under Section 81 combined with Section 86 of the Representation of People Act 1951 and Order VII Rule 11(d) of the Code of Civil Procedure.
