Supreme Court upholds HC order over 2019 election of Nitin Gadkari

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the decisions of the Bombay High Court striking off certain allegations made against union minister Nitin Gadkari in petitions challenging his 2019 election from Nagpur. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh dismissed the plea of Congress candidate Nana Falgunrao Patole and one Nafis Khan, a voter from Nagpur constituency, challenging the February 26, 2021 order of the Nagpur bench of the high court.

The top court said Gadkari again won the seat in 2024 general elections and said the reasoning adopted by the high court was correct.

"We see no reason to interfere with the high court order," the bench said.


The high court in its order refused to dismiss the election petitions but struck off certain averments made in them with regard to the income of family members and land owned by them.

Aggrieved by the high court order, both Khan and Patole moved the top court.

They claimed the high court erred in its ruling and said the power to strike off pleadings was extraordinary and must be exercised by the court sparingly with extreme care, caution and circumspection.

Khan, an elector from the Nagpur constituency, alleged Gadkari submitted false information in his nomination form and election affidavit.

Patole, on the other hand, claimed the laid down procedure for the election process was not followed in the polls.