HC dismisses petition challenging election of BJP MP Sigriwal

The Patna High Court today dismissed a petition by RJD leader Prabhunath Singh challenging election of BJP leader Janardan Singh Sigriwal from Bihar's Maharajganj parliamentary seat in 2014.
Justice Mungeshwar Sahoo dismissed the petition of the RJD leader, who had lost to Sigriwal in the last general elections.
The complainant had prayed to the court to annul the election of Sigriwal for concealing a criminal case of 1986 against him in his affidavit while filing nomination.
Senior Advocate S D Sanjay appearing for Sigriwal argued that there was no concealment by him and he had disclosed all four pending cases against him lodged in course of participating in agitations.

Since he had no knowledge about Bhagwan Bazar Police station case no 46/1986, he could not mention it in his nomination paper, the counsel said and argued that in the past Sigriwal had contested four elections but due to lack of knowledge of the case he had never mentioned it.
The case, he said, had been raised for the first time after conclusion of 2014 poll by Singh.

Sanjay submitted before the court that the petitioner failed to prove knowledge of the criminal case by Sigriwal by evidence beyond reasonable doubt and therefore, his election cannot be declared void.
After considering the entire oral and documentary evidences brought on record by both the parties, the High Court held that knowledge of the criminal case by Sigriwal could not be proved and therefore, there was no wrongful acceptance of the nomination paper and dismissed the petition.

P K Verma and S B K Mangalam appeared for the RJD leader.