Justice Ok Natarajan dictated the operative portion of his judgment within the court docket on Friday.
Bengaluru:
The election of JD(S) Member of Parliament from Hassan, Prajwal Revanna, was declared null and void by the Excessive Court docket of Karnataka on Friday.
Justice Ok Natarajan in his judgment partly permitting the 2 petitions filed by G Devarajegowda, a voter from the constituency, and A Manju, the then BJP’s defeated candidate (2019 LS polls) additionally directed the Election Fee of India to take motion towards Prajwal Revanna for election malpractice as per the Conduct of Election Course of Guidelines.
Prajwal Revanna is the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, and is the one candidate from the celebration to have gained the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka in 2019.
Manju, who fought the Lok Sabha election towards Revanna on a BJP ticket and misplaced, subsequently joined JD(S), and is at present an MLA.
The petitions had claimed that Revanna indulged in election malpractice and didn’t declare his property to the Election Fee.
Justice Ok Natarajan dictated the operative portion of his judgment within the court docket on Friday.
“Each the election petitions filed by the petitioners are allowed partially. The election of returned candidate, Respondent No 1 specifically Prajwal Revanna alias Prajwal R, Member of the Parliament, Constituency 16, Hassan (Normal) having been declared as returned candidate dated 23.5.2019 is hereby declared as null and void,” Justice Natarajan mentioned.
The excessive court docket nonetheless dismissed the prayer of the petitioners to declare Manju because the profitable candidate as he himself was “concerned in corrupt practices”.
“The prayer of the petitioners in each the instances to declare A Manju as returned candidate is rejected in view of the findings that he himself (is) concerned in corrupt practices,” the HC mentioned.
The HC additionally directed the Election Fee to take motion towards Prajwal’s father H D Revanna (MLA and former minister) and brother Suraj Revanna (MLC) for election malpractice.
“H D Revanna and Suraj Revanna are named within the grievance beneath Illustration of Folks’s Act for having dedicated corrupt observe on the time of election and in addition A Manju, who can be concerned in corrupt observe. Election Fee to concern discover and adjust to Conduct of Election Course of Guidelines,” the HC mentioned.
The petitions had cited a number of examples of malpractices in addition to non-declaration of property by Prajwal.
It was claimed that the Chennambika Typical Corridor was value at the very least Rs 5 crore however was declared as value solely Rs 14 lakh by Prajwal. One other instance was the financial institution steadiness in an account declared as Rs 5 lakh however allegedly having a deposit of Rs 48 lakh. It was alleged that the MP had a number of property within the names of benamis and that he had additionally dedicated “earnings tax fraud”.
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