Madhya Pradesh High Court Dismisses Plea Challenging Pragya Thakur's Election As Loksabha MP For Want Of Prosecution

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed an Election plea challenging Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur's election from Bhopal in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections "for want of prosecution".

The order passed by the bench of Justice Vishal Dhagat reads thus:

"...since petitioner (Rakesh Dixit) is not appearing despite repeated opportunities being granted to him, therefore, (the) election petition is dismissed for want of prosecution".

It may be noted that the election plea filed by Dixit alleged that Thakur had made communal speeches and incited religious sentiments to win the Loksabha polls in 2019, thereby violating Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act.

When the matter came up for hearing on December 12, the bench of Justice Dhagat noted that on that day as well as on three previous hearings in the matter (11.10.2022, 23.11.2022, and on 29.11.2022), the petitioner had remained unrepresented.

"Despite the circular of cause list and knowledge of the listing, counsel for the petitioner is not appearing in the case. Repeated opportunities were granted to the petitioner to argue the case on a preliminary issue," the Court added.

Further, the Counsel for Thakur submitted that the election petition cannot be dismissed for nonappearance and has to be heard on its merits. However, referring to Apex Court's rulings in the cases of P. Nalla Thampy Thera Dr. Vs. B.L. Shanker AIR 1984 SC 135 and Gurmesh Bishnoi Vs. Bhajan Lal, the Court concluded that an election petition can very well be dismissed for default or for nonprosecution.

In view of this, the Court went ahead to dismiss the plea for want of prosecution.

Case title - Rakesh Dixit vs. Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur [ELECTION PETITION No. 49 of 2019]

Case Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (MP) 286

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