The Supreme Court on Monday removed adverse remarks made by the Delhi High Court concerning AAP leader Durgesh Pathak during his 2022 assembly bypoll election dispute. The bench, consisting of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, overturned the High Court’s observations while dealing with Pathak’s plea, ensuring that these remarks will not hinder his future political participation.
The legal challenge began when Rajan Tiwari, asserting to be a voter from the Rajinder Nagar constituency, questioned the validity of Pathak’s 2022 election victory, accusing him of engaging in corrupt practices. Pathak had secured the seat by a substantial margin of 11,468 votes. Tiwari’s allegations included non-disclosure of criminal records, holding an office of profit at the time of nomination scrutiny, and inaccuracies in income tax and share valuations declarations.
Durgesh Pathak, who also contested the 2025 Delhi assembly elections but was defeated by BJP’s Umang Bajaj, initially approached the Delhi High Court seeking dismissal of Tiwari’s election petition. The High Court, however, declined to reject the petition at that stage, prompting Pathak to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court.
In a notable decision last year, the Supreme Court had asked Pathak to affirmatively declare that no FIRs were registered against him other than what he disclosed during his nomination in Form 26. This was followed by a temporary stay on the ongoing election petition proceedings against him.
Ultimately, with Tiwari’s legal counsel conceding that the election petition had become infructuous and seeking to withdraw it, the Supreme Court decided to set aside the High Court’s previous observations. This resolution by the apex court has effectively cleared the path for Pathak, ensuring that previous legal entanglements do not obstruct his future electoral endeavors.
