Latest news with #Ahire
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Bombay high court junks plea alleging Maharashtra poll discrepancies
MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Wednesday rejected a petition to declare the state assembly elections null and void due to 76 lakh bogus votes allegedly cast after the closing of polls at 6 pm on Nov 20 last year. "There is nothing on record that at any polling station in the state of Maharashtra, any untoward incident or fraud took place. We, hence, fail to discern how, in the absence of any tangible material acceptable in law, which also needs to be booth-wise, there was any fraudulent voting," said Justices Girish Kulkarni and Arif Doctor. Petitioner Chetan Ahire, a voter from Vikhroli constituency, based his petition on an RTI reply obtained by Delhi resident Venkatesh Nayak from the Election Commission of India that "there is no data available about these votes with the ECI." Ahire said that these votes cannot be considered in declaring the results. Senior advocate Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, for the EC, and the Centre's advocate Uday Warunjikar urged the dismissal of the petition as it amounted to "gross abuse of the process of law." "We wonder how the petitioner can have a locus standi to seek such wide, sweeping, and drastic reliefs to question the entire elections of the state legislative assembly. It is a relief, too far-fetched, that too on the basis of no cause of action," the judges noted. They said this is more particularly in the context of the constitutional and statutory bar that no election to either House of a state legislature shall be called into question, except by an election petition. Such a petition is maintainable at the behest of a voter or a contesting candidate. Ahire, "having failed to demonstrate a legal injury, the sequel is automatically the lack of the petitioner's locus to maintain the writ petition. " The judges viewed Ahire's advocate Prakash Ambedkar's submission that the conduct of the poll violated the basic structure of the Constitution and breached Ahire's fundamental rights as "wholly without foundation". They said although farcical claims are made on purity of the process of state assembly polls, and more particularly in the context of EVMs and a need to replace them with ballot papers, "such plea of the petitioner appears to be in absolute desperation. " The use of EVMs was held to be legal and valid by SC, the HC said.
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Bombay High Court dismisses plea alleging irregularities in Maharashtra Assembly polls
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday(June 25, 2026) dismissed a writ petition challenging the validity of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, describing the case as a 'gross abuse of the process of law.' A Division Bench of Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Arif Doctor held that the petition, filed by Mumbai resident Chetan Chandrakant Ahire, lacked legal merit, substance, and locus standi. 'We have no manner of doubt that this writ petition needs to be summarily rejected. It is accordingly rejected. The hearing of this petition has practically taken the whole day leaving aside our urgent cause list, and for such reason the petition would certainly warrant dismissal with cost, however, we refrain from doing so,' the Bench said. Ahire, a voter from the Mumbai-Vikhroli constituency, had sought sweeping reliefs including the annulment of results across all 288 Assembly constituencies, withdrawal of election certificates issued to winning candidates, and reversion to paper ballots. Through advocate Prakash Ambedkar, assisted by advocates Sandesh More and Hitendra Gandhi, he claimed that approximately 76 lakh votes were illegally cast after 6 p.m. on polling day, November 20, 2024, and cited an RTI response to argue that no official data existed for those post-deadline votes. However, the Court found that Ahire neither filed an election petition under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 nor made any prior representation to the Election Commission of India (ECI). 'On such an extremely weak, feeble and inadequate plea, the petitioner is desirous to maintain this writ petition,' the judges noted. The Bench also criticised the petition for relying solely on an RTI reply obtained by a third party, journalist Venkatesh Nayak, and on speculative newspaper reports. 'There is no other material whatsoever, much less of any authenticity. We wonder as to how the petitioner can have a locus standi to seek such wide, sweeping and drastic reliefs to question the entire elections of the State Legislative Assembly. It is a relief, too far-fetched, that too on the basis of no cause for action as the facts clearly demonstrate. This more particularly in the context of the Constitutional and Statutory requirements of a bar being created under Article 329(b) which inter alia provides that no election to either House of the Legislature of a State shall be called in question, except by an election petition presented to such authority and in such manner as may be provided for by or under any law made by the appropriate legislature,' the judgment stated. Senior advocate Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, representing the ECI, argued that the petitioner had no legal standing to challenge elections state-wide. He also highlighted that the petitioner failed to implead any of the winning candidates — a procedural lapse that rendered the petition non-maintainable. Advocate Uday Warunjikar, representing the Union of India, added that Ahire had bypassed the mandatory route of filing an election petition within 45 days of the declaration of results and had not followed the requisite legal procedures to seek a writ of mandamus. The Court found no evidence of fraud or illegal voting and emphasized that the petitioner had failed to demonstrate any personal legal injury or enforceable right. 'We do not find 'a scratch' of a legal grievance, much less any legal injury,' the Court remarked, dismissing the suggestion that 76 lakh votes cast after 6 p.m. invalidated the electoral process. In a strong rebuke, the Bench stated: 'We are also quite astonished as to how a writ petition can be filed on the basis of a single newspaper article purporting to canvass a theory of discrepancies in the 'cast vote' and 'poll votes', and on one such opinion published in the newspaper of one Shri. Ketan Pathak. Except such limited material, there is no other material whatsoever, much less of any authenticity, to the effect that there was any malpractice, fraud or complaint of any nature in regard to the voting at the closing hours of the poll i.e. at about 6 p.m., not by the voters who were not in queue. We are of the clear opinion that merely on political opinions or on unsubstantiated newspaper reports, a petition under Article 226 cannot at all be maintained.' Although the Court noted that a whole day had been consumed hearing the petition, it refrained from imposing costs. The judgment reaffirms the legal principle that disputes regarding elections must follow the statutory route through election petitions and not through writ jurisdiction, especially when unsupported by concrete evidence.
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
HC junks plea alleging ‘vote fraud' in assembly elections
Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Wednesday rejected a petition to declare the state assembly elections null and void due to 76 lakh bogus votes allegedly cast after the closing of polls at 6 pm on Nov 20 last year. "There is nothing on record that at any polling station in the state of Maharashtra, any untoward incident or fraud took place. We, hence, fail to discern how, in the absence of any tangible material acceptable in law, which also needs to be booth-wise, there was any fraudulent voting," said Bombay HC Justices Girish Kulkarni and Arif Doctor. Petitioner Chetan Ahire, a voter from the Vikhroli constituency, based his petition on an RTI reply obtained by Delhi resident Venkatesh Nayak from the Election Commission of India that "there is no data available about these votes with the ECI." Ahire said these votes cannot be considered in declaring the results. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Senior advocate Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, for the EC, and the Centre's advocate Uday Warunjikar urged the dismissal of the petition as it amounts to "gross abuse of the process of law." "We wonder how the petitioner can have a locus standi to seek such wide, sweeping, and drastic reliefs to question the entire elections of the State Legislative Assembly. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Get Affordable Health Coverage Today Search7 Learn More Undo It is a relief, too far-fetched, that too on the basis of no cause of action," the judges noted. They said that this is more particularly in the context of the constitutional and statutory bar that no election to either House of a state legislature shall be called into question, except by an election petition. Such a petition is maintainable at the behest of a voter or a contesting candidate. Ahire, "having failed to demonstrate a legal injury, the sequel is automatically the lack of the petitioner's locus to maintain the writ petition. " The judges viewed Ahire's advocate Prakash Ambedkar's submission that the conduct of the election violated the basic structure of the Constitution and breached Ahire's fundamental rights as "wholly without foundation." The judges said that although farcical claims are made on the purity of the process of the state assembly elections, and more particularly in the context of the EVMs and a need to replace them with ballot papers, "such plea of the petitioner appears to be in absolute desperation." The use of EVMs was held to be legal and valid by the Supreme Court, the HC said.
India Today
10 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
Court scraps plea seeking to void 2024 Maharashtra polls: Abuse of process of law
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a writ petition filed by a voter seeking to declare the upcoming November 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections null and void, terming it a "gross abuse of the process of law."A division bench comprising Justices GS Kulkarni and Arif Doctor upheld the objections raised by the Election Commission of India (ECI), stating, "Such objections are valid and would persuade us to summarily dismiss this petition on the ground that the petition amounts to a gross abuse of the process of law."advertisementThe petition was filed by Chetan Ahire, a voter from the Vikhroli constituency, who alleged large-scale procedural irregularities and illegal voting after the official polling deadline of 6 pm. Ahire, represented by advocate and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar, claimed that more than 76 lakh votes - 6.8 percent of the total-were cast after the deadline without proper records or ECI the court ruled that Ahire lacked the legal standing to challenge the outcome of the entire state election, particularly in the absence of a valid election petition under the Representation of the People bench observed that the petition relied solely on third-party information obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) Act and on speculative claims based on a newspaper article. It also noted that Ahire had made no prior representation or demand for redressal before the is not a scratch of legal injury suffered by the petitioner," the court said, adding that he had no locus standi to challenge elections across all 288 constituencies based on vague and unsupported court further declined to entertain Ahire's plea to scrap electronic voting machines (EVMs) and return to paper ballots, reiterating the Supreme Court's position that EVMs are legally valid and essential for conducting efficient elections.- EndsMust Watch
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Time of India
No jail for man who threw stone from train, hit RPF cop; fine enough: Court
Mumbai: A sessions court has held that a man's decision to throw a stone from a moving train was a reckless act that endangered people on a platform of Sewri station in 2012, but it chose not to jail him. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Pointing out that he was only 20 then, it said no purpose would be served by sending him to jail. Instead, it imposed only a fine of Rs 500, saying that would meet the ends of justice. The maximum sentence the offence attracted was six months in jail. The stone thrown by the accused, , a Mankhurd resident, struck an RPF constable at Sewri station, leaving him with a cheek injury. Another constable was injured in a similar manner the same day at GTB station, but he could not identify the accused in court. According to the prosecution, on July 6, 2012, RPF constable Mahindra Ahire was on duty at platform 1 of Sewri station. While a local train was passing by, a young man in the last luggage compartment yelled and threw a stone at him, hitting him below the right eye and causing a minor injury. Ahire attempted to catch the man, but the train picked up speed and left the station. Ahire attended to his injury, completing his duty and then went to the Wadala RPF office to report the incident to his superior. There, he learned that RPF head constable Hemant Choudhari had also been struck on a leg by a stone thrown from the same train and the description of both suspects matched. Later, Ahire went to Wadala railway police station and lodged a complaint. The investigating officer sent him to St George Hospital for an examination and a medical report documenting his injury was issued. On Aug 11 that year, while on patrolling duty at Sewri station, Ahire spotted Siddiqui and caught him. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Siddiqui was taken to Wadala railway police station and granted bail on three days later. Ahire, Choudhari, the investigating officer, and the medical officer deposed during the trial. The judge rejected the accused's submissions that the stone used in this offence was not seized. "One cannot be oblivious of the spot and circumstances of the incident. Here, a stone was pelted from a running local train, the injured was on the platform, and the stone suddenly hit the informant (Ahire). The informant immediately rushed towards the local train to catch that boy, but he could not catch him as the local train was too fast. It was a crowded place. In such circumstances, one cannot expect the informant to search for that stone as he was hurt," additional sessions judge V G Raghuwanshi said. Siddiqui was booked under IPC sections 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty), 337 (causing hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty).
