Maha CM to face trial for 'omitting' pending criminal cases details in poll affidavit

In a major jolt to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, ahead of the impending assembly polls, the Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 1) directed him to face trial for allegedly failing to furnish details regarding two pending criminal cases.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi set aside the Bombay High Court order which had given a clean chit to Fadnavis and had held that he did not deserve to be tried under the Representation of People’s (RP) Act for the alleged offenses.

“The respondent (Fadnavis) has the knowledge of the two pending cases,” the bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose, said.

Fadnavis’ office said that it is “totally wrong and contemptuous” to say that the Supreme Court has allowed his prosecution in a case of alleged suppression of criminal matters in the 2014 poll affidavit.

The court’s judgement has no bearing on Fadnavis to continue as a public representative or to contest the next election, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a statement.

The apex court’s verdict came on the appeal of a member named Satish Unkey against the HC verdict.

Ukey had contended that the chief minister filed a false affidavit by not disclosing information about two criminal cases and yet, the trial court and the high court had held that no case was filed based on prima facie evidence for the prosecution of Fadnavis.

Also read: Those imprisoned during Emergency to get pension: Fadnavis

The apex court had said that it was concerned whether prima facie provisions were applicable to Section 125A of the RP Act or not.

Section 125A deals with the penalty for “filing a false affidavit” and says that if a candidate or his proposer gives false information or conceals any information in his nomination paper on issues like pending criminal cases, then the person may be awarded six months jail term or fine or both.

He had said that a candidate was under a mandatory legal obligation to disclose details of all cases, in which either the charges have been framed or the trial court had taken cognizance, in the nomination papers.

The petitioner had alleged that Fadnavis, in his election affidavit filed in 2014, had failed to disclose the pendency of two criminal cases against him.

Also read: Congress leader Harshavardhan meets Fadnavis amid talk of shift to BJP

It was contended that the chief minister did not disclose the information as required of him under the election law and the non-disclosure of these two pending criminal cases was in violation of Section 125A of the RP Act and constituted an offence in itself.

The two cases of alleged cheating and forgery were filed against Fadnavis in 1996 and 1998 but charges were not framed.

Meanwhile, the NCP on Tuesday has demanded that Fadnavis should resign and renounce politics after the Supreme Court asked him to face a trial regarding the non-disclosure of information in the poll affidavit.

(With inputs from agencies)