Hearing on Petition challenging Kangana Ranaut’s election deferred by ten days
Shimla, Oct 30,
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has deferred by ten days the hearing on a petition challenging the election of Bollywood actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency. The matter was fixed for framing of issues today, but the process could not take place and has now been postponed.
Advocate Ajay Chauhan informed that the court will frame the issues after ten days, following which both parties will get an opportunity to present their views and arguments on the points settled by the court.
The petition was filed by Layak Ram Negi, a resident of Kinnaur, who has alleged that his nomination papers were wrongly rejected during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Negi, who took premature retirement from the Forest Department, stated that he had filed his nomination for the Mandi parliamentary seat on May 14, along with a no-dues certificate issued by the Forest Department.
However, during scrutiny, the Returning Officer (RO) asked him to also provide no-dues certificates for electricity, water, and telephone connections related to his government accommodation. Negi was given until the next day to submit these documents. Though he claims to have submitted the required certificates on May 15, the RO refused to accept them, citing that the absence of such documents at the time of filing constituted a serious and unrectifiable defect. His nomination was therefore cancelled during scrutiny.
Negi has also made the Returning Officer and the Deputy Commissioner of Mandi parties to the case, demanding cancellation of Kangana Ranaut’s election and a re-election for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat.
In the 2024 general elections, Kangana Ranaut, contesting on a BJP ticket, had defeated Congress candidate and state minister Vikramaditya Singh by a margin of 74,755 votes.
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