Congress Leader Abhishek M. Singhvi's 'Draw Of Lots' Plea: Himachal Pradesh HC Issues Notice To BJP Rajya Sabha MP

In his petition, Sr. Adv Singhvi challenged the returning officer's decision to declare the winner through a draw of lots and questioned the election officer's interpretation of the drawing of lots rules in cases of a tie in RS polls.

While issuing a notice to the BJP RS MP, Single Judge Justice Ajay Mohan Goyal posted the matter for further hearing on May 23.

It may be noted that on February 27 this year, Singhvi lost to BJP's candidate, Harsh Mahajan, despite both getting an equal number of votes (34-34 each). Mahajan's win was determined by the decision of the chief electoral officer, who served as the returning officer, to conduct a draw of lots in accordance with Rule 75 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.

Essentially, Singhvi's and Mahajan's names were written on separate slips and placed into a box in the presence of polling agents and the candidates. A slip containing Singhvi's name was randomly drawn from that box.

Consequently, Singhvi was eliminated from the selection process, and the returning officer declared BJP's Mahajan the winner. Challenging the returning officer's decision, Singhvi has moved the HC.

For context, Rule 75 deals with counting votes when only one seat is to be filled. Sub-section (4) of this rule provides that where two or more candidates have the same number of votes, which are credited the same value, the “returning officer shall decide by lot which of them shall be excluded.”

Speaking to the media outside the Himachal Pradesh High Court after filing the petition earlier this month, Sr. Adv Singhvi said that deciding the winner after a drawl of lots "defies common sense".

"It defies common sense, old tradition and practices, anywhere and everywhere in the world that whenever there is a tie between two people, the person whose name is drawn...should be the winner and not the loser. If our contentions are accepted ultimately by the High Court, the result declared would have to be declared to be wrong," he said, as reported by PTI.

Case title - Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi Vs. Shri Harsh Mahajan

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