Poll panel to act against Jaya on HC direction

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India on Wednesday said it would honour the Madras High Court’s direction asking it to act on a complaint against AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa for filing a false affidavit in the 2001 Tamil Nadu assembly polls.

Submission of a false affidavit by a candidate along with his/her nomination papers is punishable with imprisonment which can extend up to six months or/and with fine. The penalty is provided for in both Section 125A of the Representation of People’s Act as well as under Section 177 of the IPC.

Section 125A states that a candidate who gives false information in his nomination paper which he knows or has reason to believe to be false or conceals any information, shall be punishable with a prison term of up to six months or with fine, or both.

Section 177 of the IPC too provides for similar penalty to anyone who, being legally bound to furnish information on any subject to any public servant, furnishes information on the subject which he knows or has reason to believe to be false.

According to a senior EC official, the commission, in deference to the Madras HC order, would approach the relevant district court for a filing a complaint against Ms Jayalalithaa for having violated Section 125A of the RPA and Section 177 of the IPC.

The Madras HC order on Wednesday came on a petition filed by DMK MP C Kuppusamy seeking action against Ms Jayalalithaa for suppressing the fact that she had filed nominations for four seats in the 2001 poll. According to him, the AIADMK supreme had sworn in her affidavit that she had filed papers from only two constituencies.

Ms Jayalalithaa had filed nomination papers from Krishnagiri, Pudukottai, Andipatti and Bhuvanagiri constituencies during the 2001 assembly polls. However, she could not contest as her nominations papers from all the four seats were rejected on technical grounds.