Headlines
Court considers complaint against Smriti Irani
New Delhi, June 24
A court here on Wednesday
took cognizance of a complaint against Human Resource Development
Minister Smriti Irani for allegedly misrepresenting facts in her
election affidavits, holding that "arguments made on behalf of the
complainant hold merit".
Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain
considered the private complaint against Irani and fixed August 28 for
recording pre-summoning evidence in the case.
"The arguments made on behalf of complainant (Ahmer Khan) hold merit," the court said.
The court will record the statement of the complainant and other as witnesses in the case on that day.
"Keeping
in view the date of filing of final affidavit, containing alleged false
information by accused (Irani) on April 16, and while affording the
benefit of section 469 (1)(b) (commencement of the period of
limitations) of Code of Criminal Procedure to complainant, it is held
that the complaint in question is filed by complainant within the
stipulated period of limitation," the court said.
The section in
question, which deals with the period of limitation in relation to an
offence, says that in cases where the commission of the offence was not
known to the person aggrieved by the offence or to any police officer,
this will be taken to begin from the first day on which such offence
comes to the knowledge of such person or to any police officer.
The
court observed that the discrepancies in the affidavits of Irani came
to the knowledge of complainant firstly in May 2014 when the print media
reports on her educational qualifications first appeared, whereafter he
started making efforts to collect all the relevant information
pertaining to the issue through proper channels.
The complainant
has prayed that the complaint in question having been filed in the month
of April 2015 is well within the prescribed period of limitation.
The
court on June 1 reserved its order on consideration of the complaint
filed by Khan who alleged that Irani in her three affidavits before the
Election Commission while filing nominations for her candidature for Lok
Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha polls, had purportedly given different
details about her educational qualification.
Khan in his
complaint in April sought action against the minister for allegedly
lying on oath about her educational qualification.
His lawyer
K.K. Manan told the court that Irani declared herself to be a 1996 batch
B.A. graduate from Delhi University's School of Correspondence in her
affidavit filed for the 2004 Lok Sabha election. But in her 2014 Lok
Sabha election affidavit, she stated she had done B.Com Part 1 in 1994
from Delhi University (open learning).
In another affidavit of
July 11, 2011 for contesting Rajya Sabha election from Gujarat, she said
her highest educational qualification was B.Com part I from DU's School
of Correspondence.
"It is evident from the contents of the
affidavits filed by Irani that at best, only one of the depositions by
her on oath in respect of her educational qualifications is correct,"
said the petitioner's counsel.
The petition claimed that Irani
also lied on oath about her assets and it sought action against her for
offences under the Representation of the People Act.