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Shimla, May 19
Himachal Pradesh High Court on Tuesday deferred further proceedings in an election petition filed by former Congress minister Ram Lal Thakur challenging the 2022 Assembly election result from the Naina Devi constituency.
The matter came up before Justice Sandeep Sharma in Election Petition No. 1 of 2022, where arguments were raised regarding the validity and format of an affidavit submitted by the petitioner in support of the election petition.
Senior Advocate Peeyush Verma, appearing for the petitioner along with Advocate Ajay Sharma, submitted that the affidavit had been filed in compliance with the court’s earlier order dated September 26, 2025, under provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
However, Senior Advocate Satya Pal Jain, appearing for respondent No.1 and BJP MLA Randhir Sharma, objected to the affidavit, contending that it was not filed in the proper format prescribed under law. The objection was opposed by the counsel for the petitioner.
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After hearing both sides, the High Court listed the matter for May 29, 2026, to hear arguments specifically on the correctness and validity of the affidavit filed by the petitioner.
It is worthwhile to mention that during an earlier hearing, the High Court had observed that the election petition could not be sustained in the absence of a supporting affidavit or documents substantiating the allegations made in the petition. Following this, the petitioner had sought permission from the court to place the affidavit on record.
Ram Lal Thakur had challenged the victory of Randhir Sharma in the 2022 Assembly elections from Naina Devi constituency. Thakur had lost the election by a margin of 171 votes.
In his petition, Thakur alleged that valid postal ballots cast in his favour were not counted by the Returning Officer and claimed that inclusion of those votes could have altered the election outcome.
Another election petition arising out of the 2022 Assembly elections is also pending before the High Court in connection with the Bilaspur Assembly constituency, where a Congress candidate Bambar Thakur challenged the election of BJP MLA Trilok Jamwal after losing by a margin of 270 votes.
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