Supreme Court notice to CM Devendra Fadnavis for ‘not declaring’ criminal cases

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis faced a scare from the Supreme Court on Thursday after a petition demanding his disqualification got admitted for hearing by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi.

The petition, filed by one Satish Ukey, demanded disqualification of Fadnavis for not disclosing the two criminal cases against him in the election affidavit submitted during the 2014 Assembly polls. The bench, also comprising of Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph, issued notice to Fadnavis and posted the matter for hearing after six weeks.

The chief minister’s office said the affidavit filed by Fadnavis during the 2014 Assembly elections had clearly mentioned the cases registered against him. “Earlier, the petitioner had filed a case in this regard before the High Court, which had rejected it on grounds that it had no substance. The Supreme Court also launched contempt proceedings against the petitioner for the filed petition,” the statement said. 

It also added that the notice issued to Fadnavis on Thursday was a “notice before admission” which will be replied to appropriately.

If the charge is proved, Fadnavis will be guilty under Section 125A of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, which prescribes punishment upto six months imprisonment for non-disclosure or concealing information as per the details required to be given during the filing of nomination. According to Ukey, there are two criminal cases against Fadnavis, one involving forgery and criminal intimidation pending against him since 2003 and another case of criminal defamation lodged in 1996. In both the cases, charges are yet to be framed by the trial court.

Interestingly, Ukey had argued the case on his own before the Bombay High Court but in the Supreme Court he got senior advocate Kapil Sibal as his counsel to argue the case. Fadnavis won from the Nagpur (South-West) constituency and in his affidavit did not disclose about these two cases. The Bombay HC ruled that disclosure of only those pending cases is mandated where charges have been framed for an offence punishable with imprisonment of two or more years. But Ukey argued that since a judgment of apex court in 2012, all pending cases need to be disclosed.

Meanwhile, the Opposition leaders in Maharashtra have demanded the resignation of the chief minister for not disclosing the two pending criminal cases.

Congress former CM Prithviraj Chavan said that in 2014, Devendra Fadnavis in his elections affidavit had mentioned that total 22 cases are against him. “Out of these 22 cases, in one case, charges are already filed against Fadnavis and the remaining 21 are pending in the court. Activist Satish Ukey had filed the cases in the apex court citing that there are two serious criminal cases against Fadnavis. He should tell truth and the details of all these cases against him to people of Maharashtra,” Chavan said. 

NCP Spokesperson Nawab Malik, joining the Opposition chorus, said that as per the election code of conduct, it is mandatory for the person who is contesting elections to disclose his education, total assets, criminal record etc in the election affidavit. “Fadnavis has violated the norm. So, he has no right to remain in the chair of the CM. He should immediately step down before the court trial starts. On one hand, the CM and his party talk about transparency and morality in the politics. But the notice of the apex court has exposed them. It shows that Fadnavis had concealed his criminal record information,” explained Malik.

Prior to the HC order, the Magistrate court had dismissed Ukey’s complaint on September 7, 2015.

On The Contrary

The chief minister’s office said the affidavit filed by CM Devendra Fadnavis during the 2014 Assembly elections had clearly mentioned the criminal cases registered against him