Himachal HC notice to govt, Kangra bank on plea alleging misuse of state funds during Dehra bypoll

Shimla, Oct 30 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Thursday issued notice to the state government and the Kangra Central Cooperative Bank (KCCB) on a petition alleging misuse of government funds during the Dehra assembly bypoll in July 2024.

The plea has been filed by BJP candidate Hoshiyar Singh, who had lost the bypoll to Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, by a margin of about 9,400 votes.

The plea has alleged that the bank disbursed amount to Mahila Mandals even without any demand to woo the voters, said Vikrant Thakur, counsel of Hoshiyar Singh. Thakur said that the notice has been issued on the grounds mentioned in the petition.

The petitioner has also urged the high court to order inquiry into the allegations by an independent agency such as CBI or a sitting judge or retired judge as the matter involves the wife of the chief minister, he added.

According to the petition, the KCCB deposited Rs 4,500 in the bank accounts of 1,000 women under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Scheme and also transferred Rs 50,000 each to 67 women's self-help groups within the Dehra assembly constituency during the period when the model code of conduct was in force for the by-election.

BJP candidate Singh maintained that this amounted to gross violation of the poll code and misuse of official machinery to influence voters.

The KCCB has to file the reply by December 11, 2025, the counsel said.

Singh was elected twice from Dehra constituency as an Independent. After voting for BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha poll on February 24, 2024, he resigned as MLA and later joined the BJP.

In the by-election that followed, Singh lost to the Congress candidate. PTI BPL KVK KVK