Gujarat High Court reserves order in Narendra Modi affidavit case

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat High Court today concluded hearing on a plea filed by an Aam Aadmi Party ( AAP) member seeking issuance of notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with his 2012 election affidavit.

After conclusion of the hearing, Justice JB Pardiwala reserved the order in the case verdict which will he will pronounce at a later date.

Nishant Varma, the petitioner, has challenged an order of the Sessions Court, which rejected his demand to issue notices to Modi and P K Jadeja, the then Returning Officer of Maninagar Assembly seat (from where Modi won in 2012) here.

During arguments, Advocate General Kamal Trivedi, representing Gujarat government, said the petition lacked merit. The Government has submitted that the plea had been filed at a premature stage as the Sessions Court had not come to a conclusion that Modi and Jadeja are accused in the case.

However, BT Rao, Varma's counsel, said the Sessions Court had erred in passing the order.

According to the petition, Modi's poll affidavit was defective as he had hid his marital status. On October 10, Additional Sessions Judge G N Rana rejected the plea of Varma, who wanted the court to issue notices to Modi and Jadeja.

Verma moved the Sessions Court after the Magistrate's Court dismissed his plea for action against Modi on the ground of delay in filing his complaint related to the affidavit.

Modi, then the Chief Minister, had left the column of information about spouse in his election affidavit blank in 2012. However, he disclosed his marital status and the name of his wife during this year's Lok Sabha elections.