The Bombay High Court on Thursday has rejected a petition filed by Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Amol Kirtikar challenging the election victory of Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Waikar in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Kirtikar sought to annul Waikar’s win from the Mumbai North-West constituency and declare himself the elected candidate.
Justice Sandeep Marne dismissed the petition, which alleged irregularities during the vote counting process. Kirtikar claimed that on counting day, he had requested a recount due to discrepancies, but his plea was not addressed.
He lost to Waikar, of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, by a narrow margin of 48 votes. Waikar garnered 452,644 votes, while Kirtikar received 452,596 votes.
In his plea, Kirtikar alleged that election officials committed serious lapses, including the acceptance of 333 void votes cast by impersonators. He further accused the returning officer of acting with “high-handed hastiness and palpable arbitrariness” during the counting process. According to him, these irregularities materially affected the election outcome.
Kirtikar also requested the court to summon video recordings of the entire counting process to substantiate his claims. He argued that the alleged breaches of rules and discrepancies warranted a recount and review of the election process.
The High Court’s dismissal of the petition affirmed Waikar’s election and upheld the integrity of the Election Commission’s procedures. The ruling highlights the importance of transparency in electoral processes while addressing the complexities involved in contesting closely fought elections.
