The Supreme Court has decided to hear in open court a review petition filed by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to review its October 2019 verdict directing him to face trial for suppressing information about two pending forgery and criminal defamation cases in his 2014 election documents.
A three-judge Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra, examining the review plea in chambers on Thursday, saw the review fit to be heard in open court.
The apex court verdict under review is one delivered on October 1 last by a Bench of then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose. It directed a Nagpur court to continue with the trial against Mr. Fadnavis under Section125-A of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951.
The decision had come in an appeal filed by Satish Ukey, a lawyer, against a Bombay High Court decision. The High Court had set aside a Sessions Court go-ahead to try Mr. Fadnavis for violation of the RP Act.
The judgment by Chief Justice Gogoi held that a “contesting candidate is mandated to furnish information concerning the cases in which a Competent Court has taken cognisance along with the cases in which charges have been framed”.
The apex court interpreted Section 33-A of the 1951 Act to hold that “information” to be disclosed by a candidate includes cases of which a court had taken cognisance.
The court held that the election affidavit under Form 26 of the Conduct of Election Rules of 1961, submitted to the poll officer along with the nomination papers, should have details of not only cases in which charges have been filed but also of those which have been taken cognisance too.
