The Supreme Court on Friday has agreed to hear the review petition filed by the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, against the 2019 judgment, that had set aside his clean chit in an election malpractice case.
The bench of Justices Arun Mishra, Deepak Gupta, and Aniruddha Bose passed an order stating that the court will hear the matter in an open court.
“Application seeking oral hearing of review petitions in open court is/are allowed. List review petitions before the court,” the bench stated.
A petition was filed by one Satish Ukey who sought prosecution of Devendra Fadnavis under the Representation of the People Act for allegedly failing to furnish details of two pending criminal cases against him, in his election affidavit. Ukey contended that Fadnavis has filed a false affidavit by not disclosing his criminal records and yet the trial court, as well as the high court held that there no prima facie case was made out for his prosecution.
According to the act, a person who has been convicted of any offense and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from contesting elections for that period and a further six years after release.
Subsequently, on 1 October 2019, an SC bench comprising of the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Justices Deepak Gupta, and Aniruddha Bose had set aside the clean chit given to Fadnavis by the Bombay High Court observing that a prima facie case under Section 125 of the Representation of Peoples Act was made out against him and directed the trial court to proceed with the case.
