The Himachal Pradesh High Court has issued notices to the state government and Kangra Central Cooperative Bank following a petition alleging fund misuse during the July 2024 Dehra by-election.
The petitioner has sought an independent probe, and the bank has been directed to file its reply by 11 December 2025.
Himachal High Court Issues Notice to State and KCCB over Alleged Misuse of Funds in Dehra Bypoll
BJP candidate Hoshiyar Singh, who lost to Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, claims the bank transferred money to women’s groups to influence voters during the model code of conduct period.
Summary
The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Thursday issued notices to the state government and the Kangra Central Cooperative Bank (KCCB) over a petition alleging misuse of government funds during the Dehra assembly by-election in July 2024.
The petition, filed by BJP candidate Hoshiyar Singh—who lost the bypoll to Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, by around 9,400 votes—claims that the KCCB disbursed funds to Mahila Mandals without formal requests, allegedly to influence voters.
Vikrant Thakur, counsel for Singh, said the notice was issued on the basis of grounds detailed in the petition. The petitioner has sought a probe by an independent agency such as the CBI or by a sitting or retired judge, citing the involvement of the chief minister’s wife.
According to the plea, the KCCB credited ₹4,500 each into the bank accounts of 1,000 women under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Scheme, and transferred ₹50,000 each to 67 women’s self-help groups within the Dehra constituency—during the period when the model code of conduct was in force for the by-election.
Singh has argued that the transfers constituted a serious breach of the election code and a misuse of official machinery for electoral gain.
The bank has been directed to submit its reply by 11 December 2025, Thakur said.
Singh, a two-time MLA from Dehra as an Independent, had supported BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha polls on 24 February 2024, before resigning and joining the BJP. He was subsequently defeated by the Congress candidate in the ensuing bypoll.
(with PTI inputs)
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