The Kerala High Court on Wednesday dismissed an election petition challenging the victory of Congress leader and Alappuzha MP K C Venugopal in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Justice G Girish rejected the petition by invoking Order VII Rule 11(a) of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), which provides for the rejection of a plaint if it fails to disclose a valid cause of action.

The petition was filed by CPM leader A M Ariff, who represented Alappuzha in the previous Lok Sabha and had earlier served as MLA from Aroor. Ariff had challenged Venugopal's election alleging irregularities in the conduct of the poll and acts amounting to bribery.

The court noted that the petition suffered from defects and remained unnumbered. Finding that it did not disclose a cause of action warranting further proceedings, the court dismissed it.

Venugopal had won the Alappuzha Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 general elections by a margin of 63,513 votes, defeating Ariff.

(With LiveLaw inputs)