Indore High Court Dismisses Municipality Election Petitions, Including Neemuch Municipality President Swati Chopra Dispute

Neemuch (Madhya Pradesh): The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissed more than 20 petitions related to urban body elections across the state, including a dispute involving Neemuch Municipality president Swati Chopra.

In an eight-page order, Justice Pranay Verma dismissed the petitions on grounds of “inordinate delay”.

The court observed that challenging issues related to the 2022 urban body elections in 2026 amounted to misuse of the judicial process.

Neetu Singh Thakur, Shailendra Singh Thakur and Leader of Opposition Yogesh Prajapati had filed the petition against Chopra.

The petition alleged that the chairperson exercised financial and administrative powers without a valid Gazette notification, violating provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Act, 1961.

The court said the petitioners remained inactive regarding their rights for nearly four years and could not seek constitutional relief after such delay. Justice Verma observed that people who “slept over their rights for years” were not entitled to relief.

Swati Chopra welcomed the verdict, while Yogesh Prajapati said the petition was dismissed on technical grounds and further legal options would be explored.