SC reserves order on petition challenging Maharashtra CM’s election : The Tribune India

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SC reserves order on petition challenging Maharashtra CM’s election

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a petition seeking annulment of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s election to the state assembly for allegedly failing to disclose certain criminal cases pending against him while filing the nomination papers.

SC reserves order on petition challenging Maharashtra CM’s election

Devendra Fadnavis. PTI file



Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 23

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a petition seeking annulment of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s election to the state assembly for allegedly failing to disclose certain criminal cases pending against him while filing the nomination papers.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi reserved the verdict after hearing detailed arguments from senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi for Fadnavis and senior counsel Vivek Tankha for petitioner Satish Ukey.

During the hearing, Rohatgi admitted that Fadanvis could not furnish details of two of the 25 cases pending against him but insisted that it didn’t amount to an electoral offence under Section 125A of the Representation of People Act  even as the Bench said the issue had to be decided during trial.

Ukey has challenged before the top court a Bombay High Court order dismissing his petition. The High Court had dismissed Ukey’s petition that had sought annulment of Fadnavis’s election to the Maharashtra Assembly for alleged non-disclosure of all pending criminal cases against him.

Ukey contended that the Chief Minister was required to disclose all pending cases against him under Section 33A (1) of the Representation of People’s Act.

He alleged that there were two cases pending in a Nagpur court. The non-disclosure of these two pending criminal cases amounted to violation of Section 125A of the RP Act and constituted an offence in itself, he contended.

In his election affidavit filed in 2014, Fadnavis had failed to disclose the pendency of two criminal cases against him. The two cases of alleged cheating and forgery were filed against Fadnavis in 1996 and 1998 but charges have not been framed.

The Supreme Court had on December 13 last year issued notice to Fadnavis on a petition challenging his election to the state assembly, alleging non-disclosure of criminal cases pending against him while filing his nomination papers.

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