Hearing an election petition of Congress leader Ashwin Rathod challenging the 2017 Assembly poll win of now state education and law minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama from Dholka constituency, the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday slammed the respondents for delays. Senior advocate Jal Unawala, representing , Shaktisinh Sisodiya, who had contested as an independent candidate and is supporting Chudasama, was pulled up by the court for not submitting his affidavit — as per an unspoken norm — a day before the deposition, to legal representatives of other parties including Rathod. Justice Upadhyay told Unawala and Chudasama's counsel Nirupam Nanavaty that such delays are unfair to the justice system, to the plaintiff and to the court. “Unreasonable accommodation (of adjournment, dates) has been granted to you.I'll be very conservative in accommodating you (henceforth),” he said Another respondent Javedmiya Kadri, who was also an independent candidate from Dholka, represented by senior advocate Mehul Shah, told the court he would appear as a witness for Rathod, and submit his affidavit on Thursday. Kadri is expected to be cross-examined on Friday. The court did not raise any objections. But Shah wasn’t spared for his last minute request to submit evidence supporting the petitioner. During the hearing, petitioner Rathod’s counsel Percy Kavina said, “Each day (of delay) is not important but cumulatively, it has a crippling effect. I humbly submit then that they (respondents) be asked to keep all evidence ready so that once I'm done cross-examining one witness, we can move to the next one immediately.” However, no instruction was given by the court in this regard. Meanwhile, in light of new evidence that will come up in Kadari's deposition, Nanavaty sought time as changes may be required to their first witness' affidavit. A total of five witnesses supporting Chudasama are expected to be examined.
