Supreme Court agrees to reconsider order in poll affidavit case against Devendra Fadnavis

The Supreme Court has agreed to reconsider its October 2019 judgement that allowed an advocate to pursue his complaint before a trial court against Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for not disclosing all criminal cases in nomination papers in 2014.

In a relief to Fadnavis, a bench of Justices Arun Mishra, Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose ordered to post the matter in open court for the hearing.

This order was passed on January 23.

The top court had in October 2019 set aside the Bombay High Court's order on May 3, 2018, rejecting a petition by advocate Satish Uke plea for action against Fadnavis.

"Since the high court and trial court interdicted the complaint, we unhesitatingly arrive at the conclusion that the same deserved to be set aside," the bench had said.

The petitioner, represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, had contended that Fadnavis had filed an affidavit in Form 26 on September 26, 2014, in which he concealed two pending criminal cases in which the court had already taken cognisance.

The concealment of information to the election observer and the returning officer amounted to an offence under Section 125A of the Representation of People Act, 1951, however, no action was taken despite it having been brought to the notice of the authorities, he said.

The petitioner also claimed that as per the Election Commission's clarification issued on September 26, 2012, details of all pending cases in which cognisance have been taken by a court have to be disclosed, irrespective of quantum of punishment or framing of charges.

The advocate challenged the validity of an order by the Bombay High Court rejecting his plea for action against Fadnavis.

It was alleged that Fadnavis did not disclose all pending cases against him in his affidavit filed along with his nomination papers for election as an MLA from southwest Nagpur constituency in 2014.