Court Dismisses Somnath Bharti's Petition Against Satish Upadhyay's Election

The Delhi High Court has dismissed the petition filed by AAP leader Somnath Bharti, which challenged the election victory of BJP's Satish Upadhyay from Malviya Nagar in the 2025 Assembly polls.

Upadhyay emerged victorious, defeating Bharti by 39,564 votes in the February election last year. Bharti's petition accused Upadhyay of violating electoral conduct under the Representation of the People Act (ROPA), including allegations of using agents to transport voters to polling booths.

Justice Jasmeet Singh highlighted that Bharti's petition lacked the inclusion of Congress candidate Jitender Kumar Kochar as a respondent in the required timeframe, rendering the petition procedurally defective. The court emphasized that such omissions are critical, given an election petition's significance in impacting the democratic process.