Supreme Court to hear Vijapur MLA case on March 19:High Court had voided Mukesh Malhotra’s election for hiding criminal case

The echo of the disqualification case of Vijaypur assembly seat, which caused a stir in Madhya Pradesh politics, will now be heard in the country’s highest court. The Supreme Court will hear the petition of MLA Mukesh Malhotra on March 19. Mukesh Malhotra told Bhaskar over the phone that the Chief Justice will hear this case in the Supreme Court. It is noteworthy that the Gwalior High Court had declared Malhotra’s election null and void due to hiding a criminal case, considering BJP leader Ramniwas Rawat as the winner. Only 4 days left On March 9, the High Court, while hearing the Vijaypur MLA case, had given Mukesh Malhotra 15 days to approach the Supreme Court after nullifying his election. This 15-day deadline is ending on March 24. In such a situation, the hearing on March 19 will be crucial. High Court’s Strict Stance, hiding 2 out of 6 cases, proved costly On March 9, Justice G.S. Ahluwalia of the Gwalior Bench, delivering a historic verdict, had cancelled the election of Mukesh Malhotra. The court found that Malhotra had disclosed information about only 4 criminal cases in his 2024 by-election nomination. In reality, 6 cases were registered against him. Concealing information about 2 cases was considered a violation of electoral rules. The court had ordered the petitioner Ramniwas Rawat (the second-ranked candidate) to be declared the new MLA of Vijaypur. 15 Days Time Given to Approach Supreme Court
As soon as the Gwalior Bench of the High Court declared Mukesh Malhotra’s election null and void and declared his closest rival Ramniwas Rawat as MLA, Malhotra immediately filed an application in the High Court itself seeking time to appeal. Following this, the High Court clarified in its order that Mukesh Malhotra has 15 days to approach the Supreme Court. Its technical meaning is that Ramniwas Rawat cannot be sworn in as an MLA for the next 15 days. To save his MLA position, Mukesh Malhotra will have to mandatorily obtain a ‘Stay’ (Stay Order) from the Supreme Court by March 20. If the Supreme Court stays the High Court’s decision, then Malhotra will remain an MLA. Mukesh and Ramniwas both had changed parties Former Minister of State and tribal leader Mukesh Malhotra joined Congress on May 2, 2024. He took membership at Priyanka Gandhi’s election rally held in Morena district. In the 2023 assembly elections, Mukesh Malhotra contested as an independent from the Vijaypur seat, and tribals from the entire region supported him. He received 45 thousand votes. Mukesh has been active in the politics of the Vijaypur assembly constituency for a long time. He was previously in BJP, when the government made him the chairman of the Sahariya Authority. He was given the status of Minister of State. After not getting a ticket in the assembly elections, he left the BJP before the 2023 elections. In fact, the Vijaypur assembly constituency has over 70 thousand votes from the Sahariya tribal community. Congress made Mukesh a candidate in the by-election, keeping the tribal votes in mind. Know what the whole matter is? Actually, former Forest Minister Ram Niwas Rawat had filed a petition in the Gwalior High Court, challenging the filing of a false affidavit by Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra from Sheopur’s Vijaypur assembly constituency. Former Minister Ram Niwas Rawat had filed a petition before the single bench of the Gwalior High Court, alleging that Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra had concealed information about criminal cases against him in his affidavit for the by-election. Gwalior High Court had issued notice to the candidates Hearing a petition by former minister Ram Niwas Rawat, the Gwalior High Court had issued notices to 11 candidates contesting the by-election, including Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra from Vijaypur. Notices were issued to all candidates, seeking their response.