Allahabad HC Directs ECI To Preserve Documents, CCTV Footage Of 2024 Aligarh Lok Sabha Polls On SP Candidate's Plea
Sparsh Upadhyay
28 Nov 2024 10:53 AM IST
The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday directed that all documents and CCTV footage relating to the 2024 elections in UP's Aligarh Lok Sabha constituency be preserved till the disposal of an election petition filed by Samajwadi Party candidate Chaudhary Bijendra Singh.
“…we make it clear that all the documents in relation to the election including the videography / CCTV footage, Form 17- C and other documents sought by the petitioner in the present writ petition are maintained by the Election Commission and that should not be destroyed in any manner till the next date,” the Bench directed the Election Commission of India (ECI)
A bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Vipin Chandra Dixit also granted counsel representing the ECI four weeks' time to file an affidavit responding to the SP candidate's plea.
The matter is now listed for January 27, 2025.
On the Aligarh Lok Sabha seat, SP's Chaudhary Bijendra Singh fought a tight contest until the final round of vote counting. Ultimately, he was defeated by BJP's Satish Gautam by a margin of 15,647 votes. While Satish Gautam received 501,834 votes, Bijendra Singh could manage only 486,187 votes.
Singh has now moved the High Court, challenging his defeat and Gautam's victory.
In his election plea, Singh claims that 11 voting machines were not opened during the vote count and that election officials were working under government pressure.
