The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday dismissed a writ petition seeking cancellation of allegedly fraudulent votes and an independent probe into bogus voting during the panchayat elections in Dehradun, stating that such disputes must be addressed through election petitions as mandated by law.
Justice Ravindra Maithani, who heard the plea filed by Rajendra Singh Chauhan, upheld the legal position that allegations relating to electoral malpractice cannot be adjudicated through a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution.
Chauhan, who contested for the post of panchayat member from Joshi Gothan block in Dehradun district, claimed that 38 bogus votes were cast at booth No. 75 of polling station No. 82, located at Junior High School, Datanu (formerly Badanu), in Kalsi block and tehsil. He sought cancellation of those votes and a high-level inquiry into the alleged involvement of officials from the State Election Commission.
However, the Election Commission argued that the issue raised was purely an election dispute and fell under the purview of Article 243-O of the Constitution and Section 131-H of the Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act, 2016. The commission maintained that such grievances can only be examined through an election petition after the conclusion of the electoral process.
The High Court concurred with this view and also cited the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in West Bengal State Election Commission & Others vs. Communist Party of India (Marxist) & Others, which reiterated that courts must refrain from interfering once the election process has commenced.
Additionally, referring to a 2021 Supreme Court judgment, the court declined to intervene in the matter of alleged bogus voting, reinforcing that the only recourse available was through filing a proper election petition.
With this, the court dismissed Chauhan’s plea, reiterating the sanctity of the electoral process and the exclusive statutory mechanism laid down for election disputes.
