Kerala High Court rejects plea challenging election of K.C. Venugopal in 2024 Lok Sabha elections
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) rejected an election petition filed by Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader A.M. Ariff that
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) rejected an election petition filed by Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader A.M. Ariff that challenged the victory of K.C. Venugopal of the Congress from the Alappuzha constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Justice G. Gireesh held that the petition ‘cannot be entertained’ since the contentions made by the petitioner did not fulfil the requirements for the allegation of corrupt practices under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (the RP Act).
In his petition, Mr. Ariff, who was a rival candidate, alleged that Mr. Venugopal had engaged in corrupt practices such as appealing to voters on discriminatory grounds, promoting enmity between voters, and making false claims regarding the conduct of other candidates. He had produced screenshots of videos allegedly uploaded by Mr. Venugopal’s associates, a CD containing the alleged videos, and documents pertaining to their authenticity.
Venugopal contended that if the alleged acts were committed before the submission of his nomination, they cannot be named as corrupt practices as per the RP Act. The election petition had not been
admitted to court owing to procedural defects when it was filed. However, the court held that the petition could not be entertained because it did not possess a legitimate claim against the alleged offence.
The BriefWire