Tuesday, 26 April 2022 | PNS | Nainital
The Uttarakhand high court has issued notices to four MLAs, election commission and others in four separate petitions challenging the election of the MLAs concerned. Hearing a petition alleging misuse of discretionary fund by the former Assembly speaker and current Rishikesh MLA, Prem Chand Agrawal when the model code of conduct was in force, the single bench of justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari issued a notice to Agrawal, the Dehradun district election officer, chief electoral officer and other officials along with the candidates who lost the election from the constituency, directing them to submit their reply within six weeks. The election commission has also been directed to submit its reply in the case. Rishikesh resident JC Ramola had filed a petition stating that Agrawal had distributed a considerable amount from the discretionary fund through demand drafts to many people during the election process. The petitioner has also attached some of these demand drafts as proof along with his petition, demanding a probe and disqualification of Agrawal’s election.
In another petition challenging BSP candidate Sarwat Karim Ansari’s election from Manglaur, the single bench of justice Alok Kumar Verma has issued a notice to Ansari and the defeated candidates, directing them to submit their reply in the case which be heard next on June 7. The defeated Congress candidate from Manglaur, Qazi Nizamuddin had filed a petition alleging that Ansari had concealed various facts in his affidavit filed during nomination in the 2022 Assembly polls. The petitioner has alleged that Ansari did not give correct details of his property, showed the income of his wife and himself incorrectly in the affidavit, did not provide correct income tax details and provided a wrong educational certificate. Nizamuddin has sought disqualification of Ansari’s election.
In the third case challenging the election of independent candidate Umesh Kumar from Khanpur constituency, the single bench of justice Sharad Kumar Sharma issued a notice to Kumar seeking his reply within four weeks. Laksar resident Veerendra Kumar had filed a petition alleging that Kumar had concealed various facts in the affidavit submitted during nomination for the Assembly polls. The petitioner submitted a list of 29 cases against Kumar in various courts while stating that the MLA had listed only 16 cases in the affidavit. Alleging that he had indulged in electoral malpractices, the petitioner has sought disqualification of the Khanpur MLA’s election. In the petition challenging the election of Lohaghat MLA from Congress, Khushal Singh Adhikari, the single bench of justice Ravindra Maithani has issued notices to Adhikari, the state and district election authorities along with the defeated candidates directing them to submit their replies in six weeks. Defeated candidate Puran Singh Fartyal had filed the petition challenging Adhikari’s election stating that he had filed his nomination on January 24 and submitted the affidavit on January 28 which is against the rules as the affidavit has to be submitted on the same day when the nomination is filed. The petitioner has also stated that Adhikari is a contractor who had also secured a government contract on March 31 after being elected.
