Kerala HC dumps plea seeking rejection of Rajeev Chandrasekhar's nomination for 2024 Lok Sabha elections
The petition, filed by Congress leader Avani Bansal and Supreme Court lawyer Renjith Thomas from Bengaluru, alleged that the NDA candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar submitted a false affidavit declaring his assets to the Election Commission.
FollowKochi: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (April 23) rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking rejection of NDA candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar's nomination. The Union Minister is contesting from the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat against UDF's sitting MP Shashi Tharoor. The action of the Division Bench comprising Justices VG Arun and S Manu has clarified that they cannot interfere in election procedures etc.
The Election Commission had pointed out in the court that even the postal ballot polling had been done and the court pointed out that since the electoral officer had accepted the petition, the matter could be raised only through an election petition.
The petition, filed by Congress leader Avani Bansal and Supreme Court lawyer Renjith Thomas from Bengaluru, alleges that the NDA candidate submitted a false affidavit declaring his assets to the Election Commission. This purportedly violates the relevant provisions of the Representation of People Act, 1951, and the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
The PIL claims that the BJP leader had previously committed a similar offense during the 2018 Rajya Sabha elections. It reiterates the allegations against Chandrasekhar for allegedly concealing his assets in the affidavit attached to his nomination.
“Total movable assets declared by him are 9 crore 25 lakh (approx). This is factually wrong since 'details of investment in bonds, debentures/shares and units in companies/mutual funds, and others' is Rs 45 crores (approx) but this has not been added to the gross total value. He has not disclosed his major holding company - Jupiter Capital and has only declared subsidiary companies to hide the complex web of companies used to hide his true assets,” reads the petition.
