CM Devendra Fadnavis gets SC notice for hiding criminal cases
On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a notice to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on a petition seeking an annulment of his election. Annulment had been sought on the grounds that Fadnavis had not fully disclosed criminal cases pending against him in his election affidavit. An SC bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has sought a response from Fadnavis. Here's more.
What the petitioner has alleged
The petition in question was filed by lawyer Satish Ukey. Ukey has alleged that Fadnavis, a legislator from the Nagpur South West constituency, had not disclosed details of two pending criminal cases against him while filing for nomination in the 2009 and 2014 assembly elections. This, Ukey has alleged, is in clear violation of Section 125-A of the Representation of People's Act, 1951.
What is the nature of the cases against Fadnavis?
The two cases referred to by Ukey were filed in 1996 and 1998, and included allegations of cheating and forgery. Ukey had alleged that Fadnavis had also filed a Personal Recognizance (PR) bond of Rs. 3,000 in one of the cases.
How the case has proceeded since it was filed
The petition, which sought an annulment of Fadnavis' election, was first filed in September 2015 in the court of the Judicial Magistrate in Nagpur. After the court dismissed the petition, Ukey moved the Sessions Court, which asked the lower court to reconsider the decision. Subsequently, Fadnavis moved the Bombay High Court, which dismissed the petition again. Now, Ukey has moved the Supreme Court.
What the government has said
Earlier this year, the Maharashtra government, in response to a report claimed that there were no pending cases against CM Fadnavis. "These cases were from the election affidavit filed during the 2014 assembly elections. At present (in 2018), there is no case pending against the Maharashtra Chief Minister," an official from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) had said.
