In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench has cancelled the Election Commission’s (EC) notification for a by-election in the Akola West assembly constituency in Maharashtra, scheduled for April 26. The division bench, comprising Justices Anil Kilor and MS Jawalkar, declared that there will be no by-election in this assembly segment, which became vacant following the death of the sitting MLA late last year. The court observed that a by-election would result in the newly elected member serving for less than a year, which would contravene the principles of democratic representation.
The decision came in response to a petition filed by Akola resident Anil Dubey, who challenged the EC’s mid-March notification for the by-election. The petitioner argued that the tenure of a newly elected legislator would be less than a year, given the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra scheduled for October.
During the hearing, the court noted that holding a by-election would violate Section 151(A) of the Representation of the People Act, as the new member would have a term of less than one year. The court referenced a similar interpretation by the Bombay High Court in a 2019 case related to the Savner constituency.
The bench’s order specifically annulled the EC’s March 16 notification for the Akola West constituency and proclaimed that no by-election would take place in the area. The assembly seat had been vacant since November 3, following the demise of the incumbent BJP MLA, Govardhan Sharma.
