Sunitha Moves SC Against Yadav’s Win In JH Bypoll
The petitioner said that she had secured the second highest number of votes in the election and that, had Yadav’s nomination been rejected in accordance with law, she would have been declared elected.
Hyderabad: Maganti Sunitha Gopinath, the defeated BRS candidate in the Jubilee Hills Assembly byelection, has filed an election petition in the Telangana High Court, challenging the election of Congress nominee Naveen Yadav as MLA, and seeking a declaration that she be declared elected. Her petition primarily focused on the ground that he failed to comply with the mandatory requirement of publishing his criminal antecedents in newspapers during the election period, as prescribed under the election laws and the model code of conduct.
She contended that Naveen Yadav did not disclose details relating to FIRs, charges framed against him, and declarations made to political parties, which were required to be disclosed both in Form 26 affidavit and through publication in print media. Such non-disclosure amounted to suppression of material facts and constituted a corrupt practice under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the petition said. It was further alleged that the returning officer improperly and illegally accepted his nomination despite these deficiencies.
The petitioner said that she had secured the second highest number of votes in the election and that, had Yadav’s nomination been rejected in accordance with law, she would have been declared elected. She sought a declaration that the election of Naveen Yadav be declared as void and liable to be set aside, with a consequential declaration that the petitioner (Sunitha) be declared elected. She also alleged non-cooperation bypoll authorities — the returning officer and the election officer — in furnishing certified copies and electronic records relating to the election, despite applications made on November 19 and December 24.
