High Court Issues Notice to BJP's Rodmal Nagar Over Rajgarh Election Dispute

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued notices to BJP's Rodmal Nagar and the Election Commission, seeking responses to a petition filed by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. Singh questions the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and requests the court to declare Nagar's election void due to non-compliance with Supreme Court mandates.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued formal notices to BJP leader Rodmal Nagar and the Election Commission (EC) in response to a petition contesting Nagar's election victory from the Rajgarh Lok Sabha seat.

This petition, filed by Congress member Digvijaya Singh, follows Singh's defeat to Nagar by a margin of 1.46 lakh votes. In his filing, Singh has expressed concerns over the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and has petitioned the court to annul the BJP leader's election.

Justice Hirdesh of the Indore bench issued the notices on Wednesday, with a follow-up hearing scheduled for September 17. Singh's petition asserts that the EC has not adhered to the Supreme Court's April 26 instructions pertaining to the verification of EVM components, impacting the election outcome.

The petition details that the EC's failure to implement a technical SOP for comprehensive compliance has cast doubts over the EVM testing and verification processes. It further questions the management of VVPAT units and the insertion protocol for election symbols.

Singh has urged the court to invalidate Nagar's election and has sought comprehensive details from the EC on the EVM system and election records for the Rajgarh constituency.

(With inputs from agencies.)