UP: Court annuls election of nagar panchayat chief over concealment of criminal cases

Shahjahanpur (UP), Nov 4 (PTI) A court here has set aside the election of a nagar panchayat chairperson after finding that the elected candidate had concealed details of criminal cases pending against him.

The court also barred him from contesting elections for four years, a government counsel said on Tuesday.

Additional District Government Counsel (ADGC) Ashish Tripathi told PTI that Sonam Gupta and Pooja Kasana, both residents of Mirzapur Katra, had filed an election petition on May 30, 2023, before the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Ashish Verma.

The petition alleged that the elected nagar panchayat chairperson, Mukhtar Ahmed, was declared winner despite having seven criminal cases registered against him in Shahjahanpur and neighbouring Pilibhit districts.

Tripathi said the prosecution argued that Ahmed had been convicted in three of these cases and had himself admitted involvement in incidents of theft and carrying a knife in two others.

During the election, he allegedly hid this information from voters while filing his nomination, misleading them into believing he had a clean record, Tripathi added.

The court on Monday held that Ahmed’s conduct amounted to “corrupt practice” under Section 28 of the Uttar Pradesh Municipalities Act.

Consequently, his election was declared void, and he was disqualified from contesting any election for the next four years.

Tripathi said that both petitioners -- Gupta, who contested as a BJP candidate and finished third, and Kasana, who ran from the Forward Party and stood second -- had contested in the 2023 nagar panchayat polls. PTI COR ABN ABN DV DV