Delhi High Court Asks AAP Leader Somnath Bharti To Correct Mistakes In His Plea Challenging BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj's Election

The Delhi High Court on Monday adjourned to August 13 the plea filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Somnath Bharti challenging the election of BJP's Bansuri Swaraj as Member of Parliament from New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency in the Lok Sabha Polls, 2024, on the grounds of 'corrupt practices'.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said that the petition had multiple typographical errors and a corrected petition will have to be filed.

“It is full of mistakes. There are too many mistakes. Correct the petition first. I can't issue notice. I'll simply adjourn it. Please file a corrected petition,” Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora told Bharti's counsel.

The court noted that the reference to respondents in the petition did not co-relate with the respondents mentioned in the memo of parties.

Hearing was adjourned as Bharti's counsel said that a corrected plea will be filed in 10 days.

Bharti also contested the seat but was declared as lost by the Returning Officer on June 04. As per the plea, Bharti secured 374815 votes whereas Swaraj secured 453185 votes.

The AAP leader has alleged that Raaj Kumar Anand, a candidate from Bahujan Samaj Party, was in fact set up by the BJP to help Swaraj win against Bharti.

He has claimed that Anand was a minister in the AAP Government in the national capital and was active in campaigning for him till April 09 but he suddenly resigned from the party on April 10.

“He resigned from his ministry because of the misuse of the agencies like ED/CBI/IT against him by respondent no. 3(The Returnirrg Officer) and her party,” the election petition states.

It adds that on the election day, Bharti was shocked to see that booth agents of Swaraj had her pamphlets displaying her ballot number, photo, election symbol and photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was showing the same to the voters, asking them to vote for her ballot. According to Bharti, such an act qualifies to be a comupt practice.

“That thene are many people who noticed some BJP workers distributing money and materials like Saaris and Suits to some residents of the locality. They were going from door-to-door and cross-checking the house number, voters residing in the said house with the electoral rolls that they were carrying. The said persons after satisfying themselves about the voters in each house were marking the names in the electoral rolls,” the plea reads.

It adds that BJP's entire election campaign, and especially her campaign, was religious in nature and vote was sought on the prohibited lines of religion.

“Speeches of the respondent no. 1 reveals that she spoke a language in her speeches which is to divide the voters on the line of religion,” it adds.

Bharti has sought Swaraj's disqualification from contesting any election, either to any state assembly or Parliament, for a period of six years as per law.

Title: Somnath Bharti v. Bansuri Swaraj and Others