Supreme Court halts HC order to conduct by-election to Pune Lok Sabha seat

With the MP Girish Bapat’s death on March 29, 2023, the Pune Lok Sabha seat has been vacant. The Bombay High Court’s order was stayed by the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday, directing the election commission to hold the by-polls for the same immediately.

A SC bench of Justices JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra and Chief Justice DY Chandrachud noted the poll panel’s submission that the by-election will be pointless as the current Lok Sabha’s tenure ends on June 16 this year.

That being said, the SC questioned the poll panel’s delay in holding the seat’s by-poll.

The Lok Sabha’s term is set to expire on June 16, 2024. Girish Bapat passed away on March 29 2023. It indicated that there was more than a year left on the seat’s term that became vacant after Bapat passed away. Due to the Pune Lok Sabha seat becoming vacant for more than a year before the Lower House’s term ended, a by-election was mandated under Section 151A of the RP Act 1951 in order to fill the position within six months of the vacancy’s date of occurrence, which is March 29 2023.

Bapat, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was receiving treatment in the Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit for several days before his death.

Girish Bapat was a member of the Lok Sabha and was born on September 3, 1950. He was chosen as the BJP leader in the 2019 general assembly elections from Pune. In the Maharashtra government, Bapat held the positions of Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, Food and Drugs Administration and Parliamentary Affairs.