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Delhi High Court reserves verdict on plea of ex-Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan against Election Commission notice

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The Delhi High Court today reserved its verdict on a plea filed by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan against an Election Commission order finding him guilty of not giving correct account of money spent in his Assembly election in 2009.

"The judgement is reserved. Parties should file their written arguments and the case laws, relied upon by them, in the court by 4.00 pm tomorrow," Justice Suresh Kait said after the lawyers for Chavan and others concluded the arguments.

Senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, who appeared for Chavan, submitted the Election Commission did not follow the procedures in arriving at the findings in the case.

Even the publishers of the advertisements had stated on affidavit before EC that Chavan had no knowledge about it, he said, adding, "Despite all this, EC issued the show cause notice and also gave its findings."

The poll panel, in its July 13, 2014 order, had given Chavan, an MP from Nanded parliamentary seat, a 20-day deadline to respond to the show cause notice which was issued after it found him guilty of failing to "lodge his account of election expenses in the manner required by the (Representation of the People) Act and Rules." But the high court had on July 28 stayed the Commission's show cause notice to Chavan.

While staying the EC order, the court had also issued a notice to BJP leaders Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Kirit Somaiya along with Independent candidate Madhavrao Kinhalkar who had filed the complaint against Chavan in the Commission.

Earlier, former Law Minister and senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who also represented Chavan, had said that the former Chief Minister had filed all correct poll expenses relating to 2009 Assembly elections. "Chavan had incurred an expenditure of Rs 6.85 lakh in the 2009 Assembly elections," Sibal had said, adding that he did not know who had issued the advertisements.

Chavan had won the 2009 Assembly polls from Bhokar in Maharashtra's Nanded Lok Sabha constituency. He won the recent Lok Sabha polls from Nanded. 

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