India, March 10 -- The Madhya Pradesh high court has cancelled Opposition Congress lawmaker Mukesh Malhotra's election from the Vijaypur assembly seat, calling his failure to declare criminal cases in his election affidavit a corrupt practice under the Representation of People Act.

Justice GS Ahluwalia of the court's Gwalior bench on Monday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Ramniwas Rawat, who lost to Malhotra in a December 2024 by-poll, will take his place in the assembly. The order will take effect after 14 days, allowing Malhotra time to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.

In 2023, Rawat won the Vijaypur assembly seat on a Congress ticket before resigning to join the BJP. In the by-election in December 2024, Rawat lost to Malh...