Election petition is full of typos: Delhi High Court to Somnath Bharti on plea against BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj

The Delhi High Court on Monday adjourned the petition filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Somnath Bharti challenging the recent election of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Bansuri Sauraj to the Lok Sabha, after noticing typographical errors in his election petition [Somnath Bharti v Bansuri Swaraj & Ors] . .Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said when the plea came up hearing,"Your petition is full of typographical errors; I can't issue notice because I don't understand anything."Justice Arora said that the reference to respondents in the synopsis of the plea does not correlate to the memo of parties. The judge particularly pointed that the plea makes reference to Respondent No 4, who does not exist in the memo of parties.“It [the petition] is full of mistakes. There are too many mistakes. You will have to correct the petition first. I can’t issue notice because I can’t understand… I will adjourn and you file a corrected petition,” the Court said.The matter will be heard next on August 13..Swaraj contested the election on a BJP ticket and defeated Bharti, who was the candidate of the INDIA alliance. The BJP had won all the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital..Bharti in his election petition said that Swaraj and her election agent indulged in "corrupt practices" during the voting held in Delhi on May 25, 2024. Among a host of allegations, Bharti said that under Swaraj's guidance, BJP workers were distributing money and materials like saaris and suit-salwar to the residents. He further said that on the day of the voting, both agents of Swaraj had pamphlets displaying her ballot number, photo, election symbol and the photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. .The plea further argued that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Raaj Kumar Anand was set up by BJP to help Swaraj because he was earlier a minister of the AAP government in Delhi. It was also alleged that Anand resigned from the party under pressure from central agencies, and that after contesting the elections on a BSP ticket, he joined the BJP. "On enquiry, the respondent no. 2(Sh Raaj Kumar Anand) revealed that he was under tremendous pressure from the investigating agencies and hence had no option but to resign else he would be arrested. On 06.05.2024 respondent no. 2 (Sh Raaj Kumar Anand) filed his nomination as a MP candidate from New Delhi Parliamentary Constituency on the ticket of Bahujan Samaj Party. In line with the practice adopted by the Bahujan Samaj Party across India, respondent no. 2 (Sh Raaj Kumar Anand) was set up by the party of Respondent no. 1 (Ms. Bansuri Swaraj) to help her win by cutting into the votes of the candidate of INDIA Alliance," the plea said..Somnath Bharti moves Delhi High Court against Bansuri Swaraj's Lok Sabha election from New Delhi.Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.