Paid news: HC stays EC show-cause notice to Cong MP Ashok Chavan

The Delhi High Court on Monday stayed an Election Commission (EC) show-cause to former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan that sought to know why he should not be disqualified for giving incorrect details of his expenses for the 2009 state assembly polls. [caption id=“attachment_1637907” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan had been issued a show-cause notice by the Election Commission over corruption charges. AFP[/caption] According to PTI, the High Court has also issued notices to BJP leaders Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Kirit Somaiya and an independent candidate who had filed the complaint against Chavan. The EC had issued the show-cause notice to Chavan on 14 July. Setting a 20-day deadline to respond to the notice, the Commission had said Chavan had “failed to lodge his account of election expenses in the manner required by the (Representation of the People) Act and rules.” On the directions of the Supreme Court, the EC had issued a notice to Chavan in May last to appear before it in connection with the case of alleged expenses made by him during the 2009 Maharashtra assembly polls which were categorised as “paid news”. The EC order said a candidate who is declared disqualified by the Commission under Section 10 of the RP Act “incurs disqualification for contesting further elections to any House of Parliament or State Legislature for a period of three years, “and also for continuing as member of any such House if he is already a sitting member from the date of the order of the Election Commission and not from the date on which he contested the election or was elected at such election.” “Therefore, the resignation of the respondent from the membership of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on 22nd May, 2014, has no effect or impact on the continuance of the present proceedings before the Commission and the proceedings shall continue unabated until logical conclusion thereof,” Paragraph 70 of the EC order said. PTI