The Delhi high court has stopped the Election Commission from acting on a plea seeking former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan's disqualification as a state legislator for allegedly submitting wrong poll expenditure incurred during the 2009 Assembly election.
A division bench of chief justice Dipak Misra and justice Sanjiv Khanna stayed the poll panel's proceedings till its further orders on a petition by Chavan, who contended that the Commission was not empowered to proceed against him.
The Commission had began its proceeding against Chavan on a plea by BJP leaders alleging that the former chief minister has paid huge sum to various newspapers to favourably cover his poll campaign during the 2009 assembly elections, but had shown a meagre expenditure of Rs 11,000 for it.
The bench, which stayed the proceedings, also issued notices to the EC and others, including BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, on whose complaint the Commission had started the proceedings against Chavan.
Others, who had approached the Commission in December 2009, included BJP Maharashtra unit president Kirit Somaiya and Madhav Kinhalkar, an Independent candidate, who had lost the Bhokar Assembly seat in the 2009 Assembly elections.
Chavan had challenged the EC's order dismissing his objection that the Commission has no jurisdiction to entertain any complaint of this nature.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi, his counsel, submitted that the EC on April 2 has decided to go ahead with the hearing of the alleged paid news case relating to Chavan, rejecting his contention that it has no power to do so.
Assailing the EC's order which stated that it can enquire into the case, Singhvi told the high court that the Aurangabad bench of Bombay high court is also adjudicating the issue on a petition filed by Kinhalker.
Naqvi and other had approached the poll panel saying that Chavan had paid money to some Marathi and Hindi newspapers during the 2009 elections to write in his favour, but did not submitted a true account of poll expenditure to the EC.
Singhvi submitted that all newspapers had denied the allegation and replied to the Commission. Despite this the Commission decided to proceed against his client, Singvi contended and sought a stay on proceedings against Chavan.
After staying the poll panel, the bench adjourned the matter for further hearing on June 1.