The election of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Praveen Datke to the Legislative Council has been caught in a new controversy. A complaint has been filed for hiding information pertaining to a criminal case against him As per the Representation of People’s Act, the election can be cancelled for hiding criminal cases.
A Nagpur-based advocate Satish Uke has filed a complaint to the returning officer of the election for the Legislative Council. In the past too, Uke had filed a case against Devendra Fadnavis for hiding information of criminal cases against him. Now, the Supreme Court has directed a Nagpur court to hear the case against Fadnavis for concealing information. Fadnavis has sought bail in this case.
“Like Fadnavis, Datke too has not mentioned information of the criminal case against him. I have filed an application before the returning officer for taking action under section 125-A of R.P. Act read with 181, 182, 199 and 200 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Pravin Datke, on the ground of non disclosure of Regular Criminal Case (RCC) No. 321/2006 pending before the 7th Joint CJJD and JMFC, Nagpur,” Uke said in his application.
“The Case Status RCC No. 321/2006 is also available on the official website of the District Court, Nagpur. In the regular criminal case, if convicted, Datke can be punished for at least three years. Therefore, in serious crimes only, the case is booked under RCC. A non-bailable warrant was issued against him in this case a few months ago. He later got bail from the court. Charges have also been framed against him and now the case is at the stage of evidence. This means that Datke must have signed a bail application and charge sheet too. How can he forget such a case where he is on bail?” asked Uke, in a conversation with the Free Press Journal.
“As per the provision of section 125 A, the court can cancel his election or the returning officer can cancel his nomination form. Therefore, I requested EO not to issue an election certificate,” he added.
Not aware of this case: Datke
Talking with FPJ, Datke feigned ignorance about this case. When asked about the details of the case, he said that he was not aware about it. “As a political activist, many cases have been filed against me. I do not remember all the cases. While finalising the affidavit, I tried to collect information about all the cases pending against me. But the courts were almost closed. There is nothing to hide in this if it is against me. Will hiding the case benefit me? My legal advisors will now answer to this complaint,” Datke said.
