Kathmandu, April 22:

Constituent Assembly Court today summoned the Election Commission and Saroj Yadav, who was elected from Bara Constituency No 1, to be present in the court on April 29 in connection with a case regarding Saroj’s election.

A three-member bench of Justices Anup Raj Sharma, Top Bahadur Magar and Ram Kumar Prasad Shaha issued the order following today’s hearing. The bench also summoned returning officer of the Bara district Prabhu Lal Shreevastav and polling officer Gopal Thakur to discuss the petitioners’ claim and the need to hold a fresh election.

The court order came in response to a petition filed by Rambabu Prasad Yadav, a candidate in Bara Constituency No 1, who lost to Saroj, a candidate of the Sadbhawana Party.

The petitioner had sought the SC’s interlocutory order claiming that the defendant candidate was illegally declared winner of the election.

Meanwhile, a case was filed today at the Constituent Assembly Court seeking interlocutory suspension order against Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, alleging that he won the election illegally from Nuwakot-2.

CPN-Maoist candidate Hit Bahadur Tamang, who was defeated in the polls, filed the case accusing the election officers of supporting Dr Mahat in the polls.

He claimed that officers gave ballot papers to the voters without their signatures and declared some ballot papers invalid to help Dr Mahat win.

A report from Rupandehi said the CPN-UML central member and newly elected CA member Pradip Gyawali said at a press meet today that his party was planning to file cases of irregularities that occurred on the election day at the CA Court.