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Prajwal Revanna’s Lok Sabha election cancelled by HC over affidavit
Prajwal Revanna’s election to the Lok Sabha in 2019 was declared null and void by the Karnataka high court
BENGALURU: The Karnataka high court on Friday set aside Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) leader Prajwal Revanna’s 2019 election as a member of Parliament representing cconstituency on a petition that accused the Lok Sabha member of giving incorrect information about his assets in his election affidavit.
Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of JDS patriarch and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, was the only candidate from the party to have won the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka in 2019.
In his verdict, justice K Natarajan partly allowed the two petitions filed by G Devarajegowda, a voter from the constituency, and A Manju, the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate who was the runner-up in the 2019 election, also directed the Election Commission of India to take action against Prajwal Revanna for election malpractice as per the Conduct of Election Process Rules.
To be sure, A Manju exited the BJP and joined the JDS shortly before the Karnataka assembly elections in May this year and became an MLA.
Manju’s allegations against Prajwal Revanna revolved around purported false information about his assets in the election affidavit.
Manju’s plea said he filed an objection on May 15, 2019, against Prajwal’s affidavit to the then Returning Officer (RO) and Hassan Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis. After hearing the petitioner, the RO had said that the complainant could move to court citing the 2014 Election Commission order.
The high court’s ruling effectively bars Prajwal Revanna from participating in elections for the next six years. A JDS leader said Prajwal Revanna’s legal team is expected to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.
