Supreme Court Dismisses Petition Of Congress MLA Abhay Mishra On Election Challenge

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed Special Leave Petition (SLP) of Congress MLA Abhay Mishra who had challenged an order issued by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which had refused to dismiss a petition challenging the validity of his electoral victory.

Mishra, the Congress MLA representing the Semariya constituency in the Rewa district, had filed SLP. His victory in the Legislative Assembly election has been challenged in the High Court, principal bench of Jabalpur. At that time, the High Court had declined to dismiss the election petition filed against him. Subsequently, Mishra challenged this decision in the Supreme Court.

A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta granted Mishra permission to withdraw his petition, while allowing him the liberty to pursue other legal remedies available to him under the law.

An election petition challenging his victory had been filed in the High Court by Krishna Pati Tripathi; the High Court had refused to dismiss this petition. Tripathi was the BJP candidate in the state assembly elections held in November 2023.

Krishna Pati Tripathi had challenged Mishra's election on various grounds, including the allegation that Mishra failed to disclose nine criminal cases registered against him. Refuting these claims, Mishra asserted that no criminal cases are currently pending against him, nor has he ever been convicted in any case.

The Bench asked Abhay Mishra's counsel, Kapil Sibal, why the petitioner was not contesting the election petition in the High Court. "Go and contest it there," the Bench directed. When the Bench showed no inclination to hear the petition on its merits, Sibal sought permission to withdraw it. The Bench subsequently granted him permission to withdraw the petition.