The Himachal Pradesh High Court has issued a notice to Kangana Ranaut on Wednesday, the BJP's Lok Sabha MP from Mandi, regarding a petition challenging her election victory.
The petition, filed by Layak Ram Negi, a resident of Kinnaur, claims that his nomination papers were unjustly rejected, preventing him from contesting in the Lok Sabha election.
Justice Jyotsna Rewal of the High Court directed Ranaut to submit her response by August 21. Negi, a former forest department employee, asserts that he was wrongfully excluded from the electoral process. He alleges that although he provided a "no dues certificate" from his department and his nomination papers, the returning officer—Deputy Commissioner of Mandi—requested additional clearance from the electricity, water, and telephone departments. Even after he complied with all these requests, his nomination papers were ultimately rejected.
In his plea, Negi contends that had his nomination been accepted, he could have emerged victorious in the election. He has called for the court to annul Ranaut's election based on the alleged irregularities in the nomination process. The case now awaits Ranaut's response as the legal proceedings continue.
In the recent elections, Ranaut secured a victory from the Mandi constituency by defeating her Congress opponent, Vikramaditya Singh, with a margin of 74,755 votes. Ranaut received a total of 537,002 votes, whereas Singh garnered 462,267 votes.
(With inputs from PTI)