New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the poll panel has the authority to inquire into allegations of paid news against a political leader and also has the power to disqualify a candidate who is found to have furnished false accounts of election expenditure.
The judgement came on a batch of pleas filed by former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan, ex-Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda, and UP MLA Umlesh Yadav.
A bench of justices A.K. Patnaik and F.M.I. Kalifulla directed the EC to conduct inquires against Mr Ch-avan and Mr Koda within 45 days and take appropriate action. The Centre had told the bench during the hearing that the EC has no power to disqualify a candidate on grounds of “correctness or otherwise” of his or her poll accounts.
Mr Chavan is accused of indulging in ‘paid news’ during the 2009 polls and falsifying the accounts pertaining to poll expenses incurred by him.
The Delhi HC had earlier rejected Mr Chavan’s plea that the EC doesn’t have the jurisdiction to go into the details of a statement of expenditure of a candidate.
Similar charges were leveled against Mr Koda. Mr Yadav was disqualified for the same in 2011.
Though opposition leaders criticised Mr Chavan over the SC verdict, he said it has only decided the jurisdiction of the EC to probe the matter.
