Can't annul MLA's election due to second marriage

The Bombay high court on Monday rejected a petition challenging Shiv Sena MLA Rajendra Gavit's election from Palghar on the grounds that he had violated rules by disclosing he had a second wife while filling his nomination form.

- Karuna Nidhi

MUMBAI:

A single-judge bench of Justice Sandeep Marne ruled that the petition failed to show how Gavit's disclosure about his second marriage materially affected the election result. The bench added that the Shiv Sena leader had candidly and honestly disclosed the information and it could not be a ground for challenging his election.

Sudhir Brijendra Jain, a social activist, had filed an election petition in the high court, claiming that Gavit's win in last year's assembly polls was void because a second marriage, while the first is still legally valid, is illegal under the Hindu Marriage Act.