Latest news with #Form26
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Telangana HC junks plea challenging Harish Rao's election win
Hyderabad: The Telangana high court on Tuesday dismissed an election petition challenging the election of T Harish Rao as MLA from Siddipet Assembly Constituency, calling the allegations vague, baseless and lacking material facts. Justice K Sarath pronounced the order while allowing an interlocutory application filed by Harish, who urged the court to reject the election petition filed by his political rival, G Chakradhar Goud, who had contested against Harish in Siddipet. Chakardhar had alleged malpractices, including improper acceptance of nomination, suppression of criminal cases and discrepancies in property disclosures. The court noted that Chakardhar failed to raise objections during scrutiny or provide evidence of improper nomination acceptance. The MLA had disclosed pending criminal cases and convictions in his affidavit (Form 26), while the petitioner provided no specifics on alleged suppression. The complainant's claims that agricultural land was misrepresented as non-agricultural land lacked authenticated revenue documents, the court said. Though he made allegations against Harish's poll expenditure, he did not submit records or demonstrate violations. The judge also looked at allegations of manipulated voting percentages (45% to 85% in an hour) and said that there was no booth-wise data or copies of the complaints made to the authorities to substantiate these allegations. The election petition lacked concise material facts as required under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the judge said. He also said that Chakaradhar's reliance on unverified WhatsApp audio and video clips without corroborative evidence was insufficient. Citing Supreme Court precedents in Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Harishankar Jain cases, the judge said bald allegations without triable issues warrant summary dismissal.
India Gazette
7 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
AAP files complaint with Election Commission against BJP Visavadar candidate Kirit Patel
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 6 (ANI): In a press conference, State President of the Aam Aadmi Party's Legal Cell, Pranav Thakkar, raised serious concerns about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate in Visavadar, Kirit Patel, as per a release. Thakkar has alleged that candidate Kirit Patel had deliberately removed paragraph 8.2 from the Form 26 affidavit, thereby concealing crucial information. A complaint was initially submitted to the Returning Officer, but due to an unsatisfactory response, the Aam Aadmi Party has now formally approached the Election Commission of India. Thakkar further stated that election officials appear to be functioning under pressure from the BJP. 'Despite this, we are prepared to fight this battle legally at every level,' he said. He also revealed that the BJP candidate owns a Fortuner vehicle, which is registered in his name as confirmed by the RTO. However, this vehicle has not been disclosed in the election affidavit, which is a serious violation. Referring to precedents set by the Supreme Court, Thakkar emphasised that hiding assets can lead to disqualification, even after winning an election. The party has filed a separate complaint with the Election Commission regarding this concealment and will also lodge a local-level complaint against Kirit Patel. Additionally, Thakkar pointed out the misuse of a government vehicle--Mahindra Bolero (GJ 11 VV 4613)--during CM Bhupendra Patel's visit to Visavadar. 'No candidate is allowed to use government vehicles for campaigning. This, too, is a violation, and we have filed a complaint with the Election Commission,' he said. Addressing the people of Visavadar, Pranav Thakkar said, 'Do not waste your vote on Kirit Patel. His nomination is bound to be rejected, or he will eventually be disqualified. Visavadar would then be left without proper representation.' He urged voters to support AAP's candidate Gopal Italia, calling him a capable and strong representative for the region. Meanwhile, in another case related to AAP and BJP, the convenor Arvind Kejriwal on June 4 alleged that the BJP had announced it's support for the Congress in the upcoming Punjab bye-polls, citing a video of a BJP press conference, shared by senior spokesperson of AAP Punjab, Neel Garg. (ANI)
