‘Whole Day Of Court Wasted': Bombay HC Trashes Plea Challenging Maharashtra Poll Results
In a major setback to the Opposition, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea challenging the results of last year's Maharashtra Assembly polls, alleging bogus voting.
The petition was filed by one Chetan Ahire, alleging that over 75 lakh votes were polled after the official closing time fixed by the ECI (6 pm). The petitioner also claimed that there were a lot of discrepancies in nearly 95 seats, where the data of the votes polled and counted did not tally, Live Law reported.
What Did The Court Say?
A division bench of Justice Girish Kulkarni and Justice Arif Doctor slammed the petitioner, stating that it 'wasted" the court's precious time.
'We have no manner of doubt that this petition needs to be rejected. Thus, this petition is rejected. The whole day of this Court was wasted while hearing this petition. We were of the view that costs should be imposed on them but we refrain from doing so," Live Law quoted Justice Kulkarni as saying.
The decision comes as a setback to the Congress-led Opposition in Maharashtra, which had alleged voter fraud in the polls. Top leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, had raked up the matter in Lok Sabha, alleging forgery by the ruling party.
The petition raised serious concerns about problems in the voting process, such as a surprisingly large number of votes being cast in the final minutes and even after polling officially ended. It also pointed out that there was not enough transparency in how these votes were recorded.
Advocate Prakash Ambedkar, representing the petitioner along with lawyers Sandesh More and Hitendra Gandhi, argued that nearly 75 lakh votes were cast in the final minutes and even after the 6 pm deadline.
He said, 'But there was no clear or transparent system in place to record or verify whether these votes were genuine."
The petition sought that the Assembly election results be declared null and void, citing violation of various norms.
The Election Commission of India and the Chief Electoral Officer also opposed the plea and questioned the tenability of the petition.
First Published:
June 25, 2025, 20:16 IST
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