The Kerala High Court witnessed a significant development on Thursday as Justice A Badharudeen recused himself from hearing the election petitions challenging the Lok Sabha victories of Congress MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Wayanad and K C Venugopal from Alappuzha. The bench comprising Justice Badharudeen was scheduled to take up the matters, but the judge opted to step aside, paving the way for the cases to be assigned to another single bench.
Next Hearing Scheduled
The petitions will now be considered by a different single bench on May 25. This reshuffling became necessary after the previous bench, presided over by Justice K Babu, ceased to hear the matter due to Justice Babu's retirement upon attaining superannuation. The cases were subsequently posted before Justice Badharudeen, who recused himself without citing specific reasons.
Petition Against Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
The election petition challenging Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's victory was filed by Navya Haridas, who contested the November 2024 by-election from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency as the BJP candidate. In that election, Priyanka Gandhi secured her maiden electoral victory with a commanding margin of over four lakh votes. She polled 6,22,338 votes, while Navya Haridas finished third with 1,09,939 votes.
Haridas alleged in her petition that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra suppressed vital information regarding assets owned by her and her family, thereby misleading voters and influencing their electoral choice. This, the petition claimed, amounted to corrupt practices under the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Additionally, the petition asserted that her nomination papers violated election laws and the Conduct of Election Rules. The High Court had earlier admitted the election petition and issued notice to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Petition Against K C Venugopal
In a separate case, A M Ariff, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate from the Alappuzha constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, filed a petition challenging Venugopal's election on allegations of corrupt practices. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Venugopal defeated Ariff by a margin of 63,513 votes. The petition seeks to nullify Venugopal's election on grounds of alleged electoral malpractices.
Both petitions are now scheduled for hearing before a new bench on May 25, where the court will examine the allegations and decide on further proceedings.
