MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by former Member of Parliament Dr Subhash Bhamre of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), challenging the election of Indian National Congress (INC) candidate Dr Shobha Bachhav from the Dhule Lok Sabha constituency, citing lack of evidence.
Bhamre, who lost to Bachhav by a narrow margin of 3,831 votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, alleged large-scale electoral irregularities—particularly in the Malegaon Central Assembly segment. Bachhav secured a total of 5,83,866 votes, while Bhamre polled 5,80,035.
In his plea, Bhamre claimed that thousands of votes were cast in the names of deceased individuals and that multiple votes under identical names were cast across different polling booths—allegedly in favour of Bachhav. He also alleged that burkha-clad women were allowed to vote despite their names not being on the electoral rolls.
The allegations centred on the Malegaon Central segment, where Bachhav received 1,98,869 votes and Bhamre secured only 4,542. According to Bhamre, records from the local municipal corporation showed that the electoral roll included 4,378 deceased persons, and that 3,329 of these names were allegedly used to cast votes.
However, Justice Arun R Pednekar, presiding over the single-judge bench, ruled that the petition lacked specific material facts or concrete evidence. “The petition does not contain a single instance where a vote has been shown to be cast in the name of a deceased person,” the court observed, adding that it would not entertain speculative claims without supporting documentation.
Dr Bachhav sought dismissal of the petition, contending that Bhamre’s allegations were vague and unsupported. “The petition is not based on verifiable facts but mere assumptions,” she argued. “There is no legally admissible evidence or definite pleading to back the charges.”
The Election Commission submitted that the claims were based on its own official records and could be tested during trial. Nonetheless, the court held that Bhamre’s petition failed to establish a prima facie case to proceed further.
“The presence of deceased individuals’ names on the voter list, without proof that votes were actually cast in their names, is insufficient to justify an election challenge,” the bench concluded, dismissing the plea.