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Fadnavis gets bail in poll affidavit malpractices case
The chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court in Nagpur, while hearing a complaint against former chief minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis for allegedly suppressing details
The chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court in Nagpur, while hearing a complaint against former chief minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis for allegedly suppressing details of two pending criminal cases against him in his 2014 election affidavit, granted him bail on a personal bond of ₹15,000 on Thursday.
The criminal case against Fadnavis was filed by Nagpur-based lawyer Satish Ukey, who accused him of violating sub-section (1) of section 33A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
In 2015, the case against Fadnavis was dismissed by the CJM court, but a sessions court had overruled the verdict. The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court (HC) had in 2018 upheld the CJM court’s order. However, the SC had on October 1, 2019 — acting on an appeal by Ukey —set aside the HC order and directed the CJM court to continue hearing the case against Fadnavis.
The CJM court’s order on Thursday came after Fadnavis appeared before the judge. He had not attended the previous three hearings, as his petition — seeking a review of the apex court’s 2019 order — was pending before the SC. Earlier this week, the top court had reserved its verdict on Fadnavis’s review petition.
Sunil Manohar, senior counsel for Fadnavis, on Thursday told the court that under section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, the offence is bailable and also presented an application for a permanent exemption.
Ukey and his lawyer, Sudeep Jaiswal, opposed the grant of bail and alleged Fadnavis had deliberately skipped the court proceedings. Ukey also accused the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly of committing contempt of court and initiation of proceedings against him.
The court has posted the matter for further hearing on March 30.
Later, Fadnavis, while talking to reporters, said the cases against him were filed when he had participated in public agitations as a corporator, and that he would present all facts before the court. “I am sure that I will get justice from the court,” Fadnavis said.
