The Gujarat High Court has reserved its verdict in the election petition filed by Congress leader Meraman Ahir challenging the seventh consecutive victory of BJP's Pabubha Manek in the 2017 assembly elections from the Dwarka constituency.

The judgment in the case was reserved by the single judge bench of Justice Paresh Upadhyay this week after conducting a thorough trial that continued for months.

The bench remarked that advocates BM Mangukiya, who appeared for Ahir, and CB Upadhyay, who appeared for Manek, have addressed the court at length and taken it through the evidence that has come on record during the trial. "Arguments are concl-uded. Judgment is reserved," the court pronounced.

The result of the election held in December 2017 was challenged by Ahir on the ground that the proposer of Manek had not mentioned the name of the constituency on his nomination form, which renders his nomination invalid and void. Ahir had also submitted that he raised an objection against the same before the returning officer, who rejected it.

The various issues that the court delved into while adjudicating the case include whether Ahir can prove that the proposer did not mention the name of the constituency on Manek's no-mination form; whether election results were affected by improper acceptance of defective form; whether Manek's victory should be held void; and whether Ahir should be declared the winner in the election.

Inside The Court Room

• The court discussed whether Ahir can prove the proposer did not name the constituency on Manek’s nomination form. 
• It also discussed whether this required rejection of the form by the returning officer; whether the returning officer’s rejection of Ahir’s objection was illegal.