New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday adjourned the petition filed by AAP functionary Somnath Bharti till next month, pointing out several errors in a petition challenging the election of BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj. Justice Manmeet PS Arora, at the very beginning of the hearing, pointed out numerous typographical errors that made it difficult to understand the contents of the petition. The court also highlighted that the reference to the parties listed in the petition did not correlate with the respondents mentioned in the parties’ memorandum and synopsis. The court gave Bharti 10 days to file a corrected petition, which will be heard on August 14. When Bharti’s counsel urged the court to serve notice to the respondents on the petition, the judge replied, “There are too many errors. Please correct the petition first. I cannot issue a notice like this. I will just adjourn it. Please file a corrected petition.” The petition, filed under sections 80 and 81 of the Representation of the People Act, alleges corrupt practices by Swaraj, its election agent and others. It also claims that former AAP minister Raaj Kumar Anand contested the election on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket to help Swaraj by splitting the vote share. The petition further points out that Anand joined the BJP on July 10. It contends that Anand, a minister in the AAP government in Delhi, was actively campaigning for Bharti till April 9, when he suddenly resigned from the party on April 10. On the day of the election, the petitioner was shocked to see Swaraj’s booth agents holding pamphlets. which bore his ballot number, photo, election symbol and a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Responding to the developments in the court, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said the “adverse observations of the Delhi High Court on the election petition filed by MP Somnath Bharti have shown that he is neither a good public representative nor a competent lawyer.” Bharti, in his statement, said, “As a lawyer, I am also an officer of the court, I cannot comment on the observations of the Hon’ble Court outside the court. Inside the court, I am being represented by advocate KC Mittal.”
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