JOIN USThe High Court on Monday set aside the election of J Shantha as the BJP Member of Parliament from the Bellary (Scheduled Tribe ) constituency.
Hearing a petition filed by Congress worker M Chandregouda, Justice H Billappa partly allowed the plea seeking Shantha’s disqualification on the ground that irregularities were committed during the counting of votes to the Assembly elections held in 2009.
The court directed the returning officer-9 Bellary, to recount the votes and declare the results within four weeks.
However, the court dismissed a petition filed by Shantha seeking dismissal of the petition. The Bellary MP alleged that the petitioner and the respondent-2 (N Y Hanumanthappa, the Congress candidate) were related and the prayer seeking declaration of the election null and void should be set aside.
Dismissing the election petition seeking declaration of Hanumanthappa the winner, Justice Bilappa, in 172-page order, observes, “To declare R2 (Hanumanthappa) as elected, the petitioner must show he has secured a majority of the valid votes. Corrupt practices alleged by the petitioner are not proved. The R2 has not secured a majority of the valid votes. It is yet to be ascertained after counting. Therefore, R2 cannot be declared elected. It depends on the result of recounting.”
The petitioner has submitted that Shantha had produced a false caste certificate. He claimed that Shantha, who belonged to the Boya community which fell under backward community in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, had submitted a caste certificate stating that she belonged to the Valmiki community, which is a Scheduled Tribe, as Bellary is a reserved constituency for the Scheduled Tribes.
However, the court observed, “The petitioner says R1 belongs to the Boya community and is improperly accepted. However, the petitioner fails to show that she belongs to the Boya community.
But the respondent proves that she belongs to the Valmiki community.” The petitioner, in his submission, had stated that the election of Shantha on April 23, 2009, should be set aside as she is not a resident of Bellary, but a resident of Guntakal in Andhra Pradesh, and belongs to the Boya community, which is not a Scheduled Tribe in Karnataka.
He stated that her election was confusing and suspicious in nature as even when the counting of the 16th round was still on, she was declared a winner and votes polled in Kudalgi and Bellary had not even arrived for counting.