Delhi HC dismisses PIL against BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar for alleged false affidavit in Rajya Sabha Election

The Delhi High Court today refused to entertain a public interest litigation petition seeking an inquiry by Election Commission against BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar for allegedly filing a false affidavit along with his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha Elections in March 2018..While dismissing the public interest litigation, a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Rajendra Menon asked the petitioner to file an Election Petition instead..The petition by one Renjith Thomas was based on the premise that filing false affidavits infringes the fundamental right of voters and also raises doubt on the Constitutional guarantee of free and fair elections..Filed through Advocates Avani Bansal and Chandrashekhar A Chakalabbi, the petition sought a direction to the Election Commission to inquire into all the complaints made with respect to the filing of false affidavits in terms of Section 125A of The Representation of the People Act, 1951..It was the petitioner’s case that Rajeev Chandrasekhar failed to disclose the ownership of his Land Rover, Lamborghini, private jet, two properties in Bengaluru, and his wife’s shareholding in a company while filing his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha Elections in March 2018. It was further alleged that Chandrasekhar did not disclose the annual income of Rs 3.73 crore earned from his house which is leased to his own company, Jupiter Capital..The petition also highlighted the dubious role played by Jupiter Capital which was set up with an investment of Rs. 640 crore. This amount was also not mentioned in the affidavit, it was claimed..The petitioner had argued that the Constitutional duty of the Election Commission to investigate into matters of false complaints, especially when a prima facie case is made out against the candidate, could not be shirked. Any aggrieved person along with the Returning Officer should be empowered to approach the local criminal court, the petition stated..Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.