New Delhi/Shimla, April 26 — The Supreme Court has upheld the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s decision disqualifying Basant Lal, former pradhan of Pangna village panchayat in Mandi district, for concealing a pending criminal case during the 2021 panchayat elections.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh dismissed Lal’s appeal against the High Court’s ruling, stating, “It is a case where he deliberately filed a false affidavit/undertaking concealing the factum of pendency of criminal case against him.
The concealment of that material fact per se was a valid ground to annul his election.”
Lal, who was declared elected as pradhan on January 17, 2021, faced a legal challenge from Jitender Mahajan, a rival candidate who finished third.
Mahajan alleged that Lal had deliberately failed to disclose the pendency of a criminal case against him, violating the disclosure obligations set by the State Election Commission.
The sub-divisional magistrate-cum-authorised officer, acting as the election tribunal, found that a criminal case carrying a possible sentence of up to two years was pending against Lal.
Consequently, the tribunal nullified his election. Lal’s appeal to the deputy commissioner-cum-appellate authority was dismissed on May 1, 2023, prompting him to approach the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which also ruled against him on November 7, 2024.
Rejecting Lal’s plea, the Supreme Court said, “We fail to find any merit as far as the petitioner’s challenge to the impugned order(s) and judgment(s) of the high court are concerned. We say so for the reason that the regulations framed by the State Election Commission have rightly been held by the high court to be a piece of subordinate legislation and, thus, the candidates contesting the panchayat election were obligated to comply with the provisions of the same.”
Lal also challenged a February 2, 2025, order that barred him from contesting elections for six years due to the earlier concealment.
However, the Bench took a different view on this point, noting that Lal had since been acquitted in the criminal case that had formed the basis for his disqualification.
“Turning lastly to the order dated February 2, 2025, by way of which the petitioner has been precluded from contesting elections for the next six years, we do not want to express any opinion on this order’s merits as it is a subsequent event which was not subject matter of the challenge before the high court,” the Bench said.
Recognizing that Lal’s acquittal changed the circumstances, the court stayed the six-year ban to allow him to contest future elections.
“It seemed that barring him for six years from contesting elections was prima facie harsh and disproportionate punishment to the nature of allegations attributed to him,” it added.
While the Supreme Court stood by the annulment of Lal’s earlier election, it offered him a chance to return to electoral politics, should an opportunity arise soon.
