Bombay HC quashes Shiv Sena minister Arjun Khotkar’s election

In what has sent ripples down the Shiv Sena camp in Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court, on Friday, annulled the nomination of Arjun Khotkar, the Shiv Sena MLA and minister of state for Textile, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, on the ground that he filed his nomination papers after the deadline during the elections in 2014.

The Aurangabad bench of the High Court headed by Justice TV Nalawade passed the order on an election petition filed by former Congress MLA Kailash Gorantyal, who had contested against Khotkar. The bench has given Khotkar four weeks to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. The order means that Khotkar ceases to be a legislator unless the apex court overturns the HC ruling.

Gorantyal had claimed in his petition that Khotkar filed his nominations after the expiry of the deadline. The court also heard the petitioner’s supporter’s plea, who had prayed to the court to declare Gorantyal as elected from the seat. However, the court, while nullifying the MLA’s election refused to pass an order declaring Gorantyal as the MLA.

Khotkar, who is serving his fourth term as a Sena legislator, is an MLA from Jalna Assembly constituency in central Maharashtra. In a statement to the media, Khotkar said that he would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court. He alleged that he was standing in the queue to file the nomination when the deadline ended at 3 pm.

However, Goryantal said Khotkar filed his nomination after 3.45pm on the last day of filing. “I had asked the returning officer Manjusha Mutha even before the elections to check when he had filed. I had requested the returning officer the timing in the video recording. She refused to take heed of my statement and permitted his nomination. After the election, I filed a petition in the High Court; then based on video proof, his nomination has been declared void,” said Goryantal.

“Kailash Goryantal had proof that Khotkar had filed his nomination papers after the deadline. He is a legislator who has murder cases against him. He must have threatened the returning officer. He is also involved in many corruption cases. He has also appropriated government land meant for a library; the land was given to an NGO belonging to an associate of his. Khotkar has constructed his office on the land instead,” pointed out Preeti Sharma Menon, spokesperson, Aam Aadmi Party.