Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has frozen the financial and administrative powers of BJP Mayor Sushma Kharkwal over the delay in administering oath to a Samajwadi Party councillor elected through a court order.
The court’s action came after it found that despite repeated directions from authorities and earlier judicial orders, SP councillor Lalit Kishore Tiwari had not been sworn in nearly five months after being declared elected by an election tribunal.
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A bench of Justice Alok Mathur and Justice Qamar Hasan Rizvi on Thursday ordered that the mayor’s financial and administrative powers would remain suspended until the oath ceremony is completed. The court directed that all responsibilities related to administration and financial approvals of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation would now be handled by the district magistrate and the municipal commissioner.
With the order coming into effect, the mayor can no longer approve expenditure from mayoral funds or initiate action against municipal employees.
What triggered the dispute?
The controversy is linked to Ward No. 73 in Faizullaganj, where BJP candidate Pradeep Kumar Shukla alias Tinku Shukla had initially been declared elected in the 2023 urban local body elections.
According to the original election results, Pradeep Shukla secured 4,972 votes while SP candidate Lalit Tiwari received 3,298 votes.
However, Lalit Tiwari challenged the result before an additional district judge court on May 13, 2023, alleging that the BJP candidate had failed to disclose mandatory information in his nomination papers and election affidavits. The petition argued that suppression of required details amounted to violation of election rules and electoral misconduct.
After nearly two-and-a-half years of hearings, the election tribunal reviewed affidavits, nomination papers and scrutiny reports and concluded that the omission of mandatory information was a serious irregularity affecting the validity of the election.
On December 19, 2025, the tribunal cancelled the election of Pradeep Kumar Shukla and declared Lalit Tiwari elected from Ward 73.
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Why did the High Court intervene?
Despite the tribunal order, Lalit Tiwari alleged that he was not administered the oath of office and that the former BJP councillor continued functioning in the role.
Tiwari then moved the High Court, arguing that the authorities were deliberately delaying the process.
During the hearing, the court noted that the Lucknow district magistrate had already written to the municipal commissioner on January 23 and February 10, 2026, directing compliance with the tribunal’s order and completion of oath formalities under Section 85 of the municipal law.
The Uttar Pradesh government had also issued instructions on February 4, 2026, asking officials to take necessary action.
On May 12, the High Court again directed authorities to administer oath to Lalit Tiwari within a week. BJP leader Pradeep Kumar Shukla challenged the order before the Supreme Court of India, but the plea was dismissed.
Even after that, the oath ceremony did not take place. The High Court then summoned the mayor, district magistrate and municipal commissioner to appear personally and explain the delay.
Observing continued non-compliance with judicial directions, the court decided to freeze the mayor’s financial and administrative powers until the order is implemented.
Political reactions
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav reacted to the development in a post on X, writing, “Mahapaur ka sadaiv mahadaur nahi hota. Nyay hua,” suggesting that justice had finally prevailed.
Congress councillor Mukesh Singh Chauhan said people holding constitutional positions were expected to follow court orders and added that the High Court’s decision showed nobody was above the judiciary.
Mayor Sushma Kharkwal said she had been undergoing treatment at Command Hospital for the last three days due to ill health and assured that the court’s directions would be followed.