Patna, April 25 (IANS) The Patna High Court Friday set aside the election of an Independent member of the state assembly because his resignation as police sub-inspector was not accepted by the competent authority before he contested the polls and won, a lawyer said.

A bench of Justice Navaniti Prasad Singh passed the judgment while hearing a petition filed by Pramod Kumar Chandravanshi, the Janata Dal (United) candidate who lost to Som Prakash Singh by a slender margin of around 800 votes.

"The court has set aside the election of Som Prakash Singh," Chandrawanshi said.

Chandravanshi filed a petition in 2011 to challenge the election fought by Som Prakash Singh, former police sub-inspector, who won the Obra assembly seat as an Independent candidate in 2010.

Chandravasnhi's counsel said Som Prakash Singh's resignation was not accepted by the inspector general of police but by the Magadh range deputy inspector general.

Despite repeated attempts to contact Som Prakash Singh for his reaction after the court verdict, he remained not available with his phone switched off.