The Bombay High Court on Thursday has dismissed a petition by Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Amol Kirtikar challenging the victory of Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Waikar in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Kirtikar contested Waikar’s election as the Member of Parliament from the Mumbai North-West constituency, seeking to have the result declared “null and void” and himself declared the duly elected candidate.
Justice Sandeep Marne delivered the verdict, rejecting Kirtikar’s claims. In his plea, Kirtikar alleged irregularities during the vote counting process, stating that he had filed an application for a recount on counting day due to discrepancies. He lost to Waikar, who belongs to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, by a slim margin of 48 votes. Waikar secured 452,644 votes, while Kirtikar received 452,596 votes.
Kirtikar’s petition highlighted what he described as serious lapses by election officials during the counting process, which he claimed affected the election outcome. He alleged that 333 void votes were improperly accepted, cast by impersonators instead of genuine voters.
Additionally, he accused the returning officer of acting with “high-handed hastiness and palpable arbitrariness” during the counting.
The petition also called for the court to summon video recordings of the entire counting process to verify his claims. Kirtikar argued that the lapses and breaches of rules materially impacted the election result, warranting a recount and review of the process.
The court’s dismissal of the petition upholds Waikar’s election and emphasizes adherence to the procedures and findings of the Election Commission. This outcome underscores the importance of transparent and fair electoral processes while highlighting the challenges in contesting closely fought elections.
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