Kolkata, Sep 23 The bypoll to West Bengal’s Nandigram assembly constituency has been mired in legal battles, with another petition to be heard by the Calcutta High Court on Thursday, alleging discrepancy in the age mentioned and the school passing-out year of BJP candidate Hasirani Rath.
Lawyer Ritju Ghosal stated before the court of Justice Krishna Rao that Rath’s affidavit mentioned her age as 60-plus, while she listed her Class 10 school-leaving year as 1965, pointing to a “discrepancy” over her age and the time of attaining the educational qualification.
Justice Rao granted Ghosal permission to file the petition and directed that the matter would be heard on Thursday.
He also directed that the opposite party be served notice in the meantime.
Ghosal said it was the duty of Election Commission officials to verify the documents submitted.
He prayed for an order by the court for examining the documents submitted by the BJP candidate for the October 6 by-election to Nandigram constituency.
Another single bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya will hear on Thursday an urgent mentioning by arrested Congress candidate Milan Pradhan’s lawyer regarding his custody in a 2007 criminal case.
The plea mentioned that this case was not mentioned before the court on Tuesday by the state government’s advocate during hearing of his plea for protection from coercive action.
Pradhan’s lawyer has claimed that he was arrested on September 18 in connection with cases lodged during the Nandigram anti-land acquisition movement in 2007, only after the Congress candidate received support from the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the TMC for the bypoll.
The prosecution has contended that whenever an election is conducted in a particular area, it is the duty of the police authority concerned in accordance with an Election Commission guideline for execution of all arrest warrants before the poll.
The state’s lawyer had on Tuesday stated before the high court that there were 11 criminal cases against Pradhan.
He had also said the Congress candidate was remanded to judicial custody in connection with five cases.
The state’s advocate submitted that of the six other criminal cases in which Pradhan sought protection, the previous TMC government had closed five, and he was not wanted in the remaining one.
Pradhan was, however, shown arrested in another criminal case with murder and other charges and remanded to judicial custody till October 7, a day after the polling date of October 6, his lawyer said.
(PTI News)
