SHRI BALAJI vs ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

Judgment text excerpt

$~3 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Date of decision: 9th March, 2026 + W.P.(C) 634/2026 with CM APPL. 12421/2026 SHRI BALAJI .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Gautam Narayan, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Shinoj K. Narayanan, Mr. Nishad L. S. and Mr. Aditya Verma, Advocates. versus ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA .....Respondent Through: Mr. Sanjay Vashishtha, Mr. Ashish Shukla and Mr. Siddhartha Goswami, Advocates. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT BANSAL AMIT BANSAL, J. (Oral) 1. The present writ petition has been filed seeking the following reliefs: “a) Issue a Writ of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order, or direction to quash and set aside the Impugned Order No. 113/1/2025/REGISTRY/18455 dated 05.12.2025 (Annexure P-1) passed by the Respondent; b) Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order, or direction, directing the Respondent to reconsider the Petitioner's application dated 14.08.2025 afresh on its merits, in accordance with the law, and after taking into consideration the Petitioner's good conduct, premature release, and social contributions;” 2. Brief facts which are necessary for deciding the writ petition are set out hereinafter: Signature Not Verified Signed By:AARZOO W.P.(C) 634/2026 Page 1 of 8 Signing Date:12.03.2026 15:00:37 i) The petitioner was convicted by the Supreme Court of India on 30th March, 2017 for an offence under Section 326 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’), which was committed in 1993, and sentenced for 7 years’ imprisonment. ii) Consequent to the conviction of the petitioner and sentence of imprisonment for a term exceeding two years, the petitioner was disqualified under Section 8(3) of the RP Act, 1951. iii) On 8th February, 2021, the Jail Advisory Board recommended premature release