FIR against Jaya Bachchan on false affidavit charge

Principal Secretary Vidhan Sabha RP Pandey, who was the Returning Officer for the Elections, said, “We have ordered to lodge FIR against the MP for giving a false affidavit with her nomination papers for the June 2006 elections.”

The action followed a complaint with the Election Commission by a Congress leader Amir Haider that the MP had allegedly concealed information pertaining to some property purchased by her husband Amitabh Bachchan in Barabanki district in the state.

Concealing property details while filing nomination papers is a violation of the relevant sections of the Peoples Representative’s Act and the offence is punishable under the Indian Penal Code, Pandey said.

Jaya was re-elected to Rajya Sabha on SP ticket on June 8, 2006 (till 2010) after she was disqualified on March, 2006 from being a member of the Upper House in the wake of the Office of Profit controversy.

Within months after her re-election to Rajya Sabha, Bachchan was issued notice by Pandey who was asked to look into the matter following Haider’s complaint to the Commission.

An inquiry was ordered during which Jaya Bachchan contended that she had not concealed any property details.

Haider in his complaint alleged that out of three lands registered in the name of Amitabh Bachchan in Daulatpur village of Barabanki, Jaya had mentioned only one in her affidavit filed before Pandey on June 1, 2006.

In her reply to the Returning Officer on March 19, 2007, Jaya had said that plot numbers 711 and 793 in village Daulatpur were registered in the name of Amitabh Bachchan on Jun 4, 2006, three days after filing her nomination papers.

Pandey’s report said that as per the reports of District Magistrate, Barabanki and Tehsildar, Fatehpur the said plots were purchased by Amitabh on May 15, 2006 through one Vinay Kumar Shukla and the deal was finalised through an affidavit on the same date.

The report said that after Supreme Court’s order on March 31, 2008 on the Daulatpur land dispute, there was no problem in taking action on Haider’s complaint.

It was found that Amitabh was owner of the three lands and Jaya’s explanation of March 19, 2007 are not acceptable, Pandey said, citing a SC order in which it was stated that once a sale deed was signed the purchaser had claim on the land.

“Under such circumstances, Jaya’s affidavit should have mention of land number 711, 793 in Daulatpur”, Pandey said coming to the conclusion that Jaya Bachchan allegedly concealed facts while filing her affidavit for the 2006 Rajya Sabha elections.