Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday to allow Civil Appeal No. 7474 of 2025. This case pits Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury against Kripanath Mallah and others. The legal battle centers on the 2024 election for the No. 7 Karimganj Parliamentary Constituency in Assam. Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran heard the matter.
Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury filed the original petition after losing the vote. He secured 5,26,733 votes compared to the 5,45,093 votes gathered by the winner, Kripanath Mallah. That is a gap of 18,360 votes. The petition included claims of corrupt practices under Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. These claims have yet to be heard.
The Gauhati High Court had previously tossed the case on April 4, 2025. It used Section 86 of the same Act to dismiss the petition at the threshold. The court cited issues with how the petition was attested and copied. Choudhury pushed back. He argued, "the requirements of Section 81(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, had been complied with" and that the dismissal was wrong.
Senior advocate Harin Pravinkant Raval represented the appellant, assisted by advocate-on-record Adeel Ahmed. The court has not yet released the written judgment. Officials expect to reveal the specific directions and consequences once the order is public. The merits of the original corrupt practice allegations remain pending.
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