Gwalior, March 9 – The Madhya Pradesh High Court declared the election of Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra from the Vijaypur Assembly constituency in Sheopur district as "null and void" on Monday, stating that there were "irregularities" and "concealment" in the electoral process.
The High Court delivered its judgment after hearing a petition filed by former Madhya Pradesh Environment Minister and veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ramniwas Rawat, who lost the by-election to Congress' Mukesh Malhotra in November 2024.
Ramniwas Rawat had filed an election petition in the Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, alleging that Mukesh Malhotra had submitted an incorrect or incomplete affidavit regarding his criminal record during the nomination process, violating the Election Commission guidelines.
During the hearing of the petition filed in 2025, statements of administrative officials, including former Sheopur Collector Kishore Kumar Kanyal, were recorded in court.
After examining the evidence, the court found the allegations to be valid, stating that concealing such information constitutes a violation of election rules.
The court stated on Monday that there were irregularities in the electoral process and concealment of material facts, which formed the basis for annulling the election.
The High Court also issued another significant order, stating that Ramniwas Rawat, who had secured the second highest number of votes in the election, will be the elected MLA from the Vijaypur Assembly constituency.
Congress leader Mukesh Malhotra, whose nomination for the Vijaypur by-election was cleared at the last minute by the All India Congress Committee, had managed to defeat BJP leader Ramniwas Rawat.
Ramniwas Rawat had won six Assembly elections (between 1993 and 2023) from Vijaypur on a Congress ticket, however, he had joined the BJP during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, and then was appointed as the state Environment Minister in Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's Cabinet.
However, Ramniwas Rawat lost to Mukesh Malhotra in the bypoll in November 2024.