BJP councillor accused of using fake BC-A certificate, court issues notice

HISAR: A legal controversy has surfaced in Hisar as Congress candidate Kusum Prajapati filed an election petition in a Hisar court against BJP councillor Jyoti, alleging she won the Ward-3 of Hisar municipal corporation seat using a forged caste certificate. The court has issued a notice to Jyoti and scheduled the hearing for May 1, 2025.
In the petition, Prajapati claims that Jyoti contested and won the election from a seat reserved for women belonging to the Backward Class-A (BC-A) category, despite being from the general category. The petition demands that Jyoti’s election be declared invalid and calls for an inquiry into the authenticity of the caste certificate submitted by her.
Providing details of the case, Advocate Lal Bahadur Khowal stated that Ward No. 3 was reserved specifically for BC-A women candidates. He alleged that Jyoti falsely claimed to belong to the Sunar caste, which is included in the BC-A list, whereas she actually belongs to the Punjabi Arora/Khatri community—categorically excluded from BC-A as per Schedule-1 of the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Educational Institutions) Act, 2016.
The petition further alleges that Jyoti's nomination form contained multiple discrepancies, including inaccurate income and property disclosures, incorrect party affiliation, incomplete educational qualifications, invalid PAN information, and unclear employment status. These alleged irregularities, combined with the forged caste certificate, are in violation of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act. Under the Act, submission of a false caste certificate can lead to disqualification from elections for six years and is considered a criminal offence.
Kusum Prajapati has urged the court to annul Jyoti’s election and declare her—or another eligible candidate—the rightful winner, arguing that the election outcome was compromised due to misrepresentation and fraud in the nomination process.