‘Concealment deprives voters’: Madhya Pradesh High Court refuses to dismiss plea against Congress MLA over ‘9 hidden cases’

The Madhya Pradesh High Court was hearing the election plea of BJP candidate Krishna Pati Tripathi, who questioned the election of Mishra as a member of the state Legislative Assembly.

‘Election, nomination, non-disclosure’

• The petitioner contested as a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state Assembly election, whereas Mishra fought on a Congress ticket.
• The polling was held on November 17, 2023, and the result was declared by the Election Commission on December 3, 2023, wherein the Congress candidate was declared the winner.
• Mishra secured 56,024 votes, whereas the petitioner secured 55,387 votes. The winning margin was 637 votes.
• It was placed on record that 15 candidates contested the election from the same constituency.
• After the declaration of the result, the petitioner filed an instant poll petition questioning the election of the Congress candidate and seeking to declare it void.
• He filed the plea on the ground that Mishra had not disclosed his criminal antecedents, which was mandatory.
• The petitioner also attached the list of criminal cases obtained under the Right to Information Act (RTI) along with the petition, which allegedly reflected that nine criminal cases were registered against the Congress candidate in the past.
• The petitioner also pointed out that the Congress candidate had not declared the outstanding liabilities due to financial institutions, and this important piece of information was deliberately suppressed.

‘Allegation requires trial’

• The high court reiterated that disclosure of criminal antecedents and financial details is a statutory requirement, and failure to do so interferes with the voter’s right to make an informed electoral choice.
• It was noted that criminal cases had been registered against the returned candidate in the past, while the affidavit filed with the nomination mentioned “not applicable”, thereby raising a prima facie issue for consideration.
• On the issue of financial liability, the high court observed that although the Congress MLA had contended that the loan was taken by a partnership firm and not in his personal capacity, the bank records reflected his name as the borrower.
• The high court pointed out that the bank itself has issued a copy of the loan account statement, in which the name of the returned candidate, Abhay Mishra, has been shown as the borrower.
• The allegation regarding subsisting contracts with the Public Works Department and non-disclosure of income details also raised issues that require adjudication during trial.
• It is held that the petition discloses the cause of action, and is not a vexatious petition and is not liable to be rejected at this stage.

‘Voters have right to know’

• Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate R K Sanghi submitted that the election petition has been filed based on definite allegations.
• In the election petition, the petitioner has alleged that nine criminal cases were registered against the Congress MLA in the past, but he did not disclose the same and simply mentioned “not applicable” in the nomination form.
• He submitted that the voters of the constituency have the right to know about the criminal antecedents of the candidate, and by suppressing the same, the Congress MLA has deprived the voters of knowing the candidate.
• He further submitted that the registration of the criminal case is not disputed in the case, as the MLA himself has claimed acquittal in all the cases, which is a matter of evidence.
• The petitioner also claimed that the Congress candidate had availed a loan facility from the ICICI Bank in 2003 for equipment purchase, and such loan amount was not repaid by him to date.
• It was alleged that of the sanctioned term loan, Rs 50.87 lakh was due as on January 1, 2023.
• It is also alleged that the Congress candidate has deliberately disclosed the financial liability with the State Bank of India only, and the outstanding liability of equipment payable towards the ICICI Bank was not disclosed purposely.
• He alleged that the result of the election had been materially affected by the improper acceptance of the nomination form of the Congress candidate.

‘Plea filed to take revenge’

• On the contrary, senior advocate Sanjay Agrawal, representing the Congress MLA, argued that the petitioner obtained the information under RTI several years back, and on the date of filing of the nomination paper, no criminal case was pending against his client.
• It is also stated that the loan was obtained by a partnership firm constituted by a deed of partnership in the year 2002, wherein the Congress MLA was one of the partners till his retirement in 2008.
• It was emphasised that he has retired from the firm, and the loan was not obtained by him in his personal capacity but by the partnership firm and thereafter the outstanding amount of the loan is not his liability.
• Agrawal further submitted that this plea is prima facie vexatious and can be rejected as the same does not disclose any cause of action.
• He further submitted that the court must be vigilant against the suppression of facts or abuse of the process of law.
• It was argued that the present plea has been filed to take revenge on his client.
• He added that all the documents are in the public domain and can be downloaded from the official website.
• He also emphasised that his client has already resigned from various companies, and this fact was duly intimated to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
• No criminal case was pending against the MLA, and he had not been convicted in any criminal case in the past, so he is not under an obligation to disclose the fact that nine criminal cases were registered against him in the past.