Kolkata, Sep 29 (IANS) : The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by the West Bengal Congress party challenging the affidavit of BJP candidate Hasirani Rath for the bypoll to be held on October 6 for the Nandigram Assembly constituency in East Midnapore district.
A single-judge bench of Justice Krishna Rao delivered the verdict after reserving judgment on September 25, after arguments from both sides concluded. The court upheld the validity of Rath’s nomination papers and rejected the Congress plea seeking cancellation of her candidature.
The petition, filed by senior advocate Ritzu Ghosal before the Bench of Justice Krishna Rao, claimed discrepancies in the candidate’s affidavit relating to her age and educational qualification.
According to the petition, the details provided were self-contradictory and raised questions about the authenticity of the information furnished by the BJP nominee.
Ghosal contended that Hasirani Rath has stated in the affidavit that she is over 60 years old. She has also claimed to have passed the secondary examination in 1965, which would be inconsistent with the year of birth indicated in the same document.
“This means she was born in 1966. In the same affidavit, she had claimed that she passed the secondary examination in 1965. How could she pass the secondary examination before she was born?” Ghosal had questioned.
He also argued that the information regarding the candidate’s age and educational record was “practically impossible” and sought cancellation of her nomination.
He also alleged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) failed to act despite scrutinising the affidavit.
On the other hand, the counsels for both the ECI and Rath, in their counter-argument, claimed that when a candidate submits an affidavit, the Returning Officer checks the information during the scrutiny, and in this case no objection was raised by any party during that phase.
Accepting these arguments, Justice Rao dismissed the Congress petition and cleared the way for Rath to continue in the electoral contest.
Polling for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly by-elections is scheduled for October 6, while counting of votes will take place on October 9.
Hasirani Rath is the mother of Chandranath Rath, the former personal assistant of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Chandranath Rath was assassinated at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district in May this year.
