Indore News: High Court Bench Junks Lower Court Order, Upholds BJP Leader’s Election As Corporator

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday set aside a district court’s order that had nullified BJP councillor Nisha Roopesh Devliya’s election as a corporator – marking the end of a long-standing battle to decide the winner from Ward No 44 of the Indore Municipal Corporation.

The single bench of Justice Alok Awasthi set aside the district court’s earlier order that had declared her election null and void and had declared the Congress candidate as the winner.

In the 2022 municipal elections, Devliya had won from Ward number 44 by a significant margin on a BJP ticket. However, her victory was challenged by the Congress runner-up candidate, Nandini Mishra (Nandini Ashish Mishra), who filed an election petition in the district court.

The petition alleged that Devliya had concealed facts related to her property in the election affidavit and had discrepancies in property tax declarations.

The dispute revolved around a building of around 1,600 square feet located in the Chhoti

Khajrani area. Mishra alleged that the property was being used for commercial purposes but was shown as a residential one in the election affidavit. Mishra also claimed that while the property registry mentioned a 1,142 square feet tin-roofed structure, the property tax was being paid only for a much smaller residential portion. Based on the allegations, the Congress candidate termed the election invalid.

Accepting the arguments, the district court had earlier declared Devliya’s election void and declared the Congress candidate as elected. Challenging this order, Devliya approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

After examining all documents, records and submissions from both sides, the single bench found the district court’s decision to be unsustainable. The High Court observed that the available facts did not justify nullifying the election or declaring another candidate as the winner. With this ruling, the election of BJP corporator Nisha Devliya from Ward 44 has been formally restored.