Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday contended before the Supreme Court that the petition filed in the Allahabad High Court by a former Samajwadi Party MLA alleging rape charges against him was a “clear cut case of political mudslinging.”
Senior advocate P P Rao, appearing for Amethi MP, told a bench of Justices B S Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar that petitioner Kishore Samrite, an ex-MLA from Madhya Pradesh, was neither a next friend of the victim, nor an acquaintance or relative and his plea should be dismissed at the threshold.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government filed its affidavit, denying the charges of Samrite that it was at the behest of current Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and another political leader, the habeas corpus petition was filed in the Allahabad High Court.
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi submitted that in view of the fresh allegations made in the additional affidavit by Samrite, the matter did not require consideration by the apex court.
Terming the petition as “mala fide”, he said it was filed in the high court on February 26, last year while the incident dates back to April 12, 2006.
During the hearing, the bench questioned as to how the division bench over there transferred the petition filed by Samrite and being heard by a single judge without issuing any notice to the petitioner.
Senior counsel K T S Tulsi, appearing for Gajendra Pal Singh, a petitioner on whose plea the case filed by Samrite was disposed of with a cost of Rs 50 lakh on him, besides the CBI probe, urged the court to dismiss the special leave petition saying that it was based on admittedly false affidavit.
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