Karnataka HC issues notice to MLA Kaneez Fatima in election petition case

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has issued notice to MLA Kaneez Fatima in a case challenging her election on grounds that she had given false information about her wealth in the election affidavit.

Representing Congress, Fatima was elected MLA from the Gulbarga Uttar Constituency in the assembly polls held in May this year.

A single judge bench of Justice CM Poonacha, which heard the petition on Friday, issued the notice and adjourned the hearing by four weeks allowing the respondent to file her objections.

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The petitioner, A S Sharanabasappa, had contested the election for the same seat on a JD(U) ticket and lost.

“Due to improper acceptance of the nomination of Respondent No.1 (Fatima) the result of the election in so far as it concerns respondent No.1 has been materially affected, since the Respondent No.1 intentionally concealed and failed to disclose material facts regarding assets and liabilities,” the petition alleged.

The petition claimed that Fatima had not disclosed her bank account details maintained by the SBI Station Branch.

It also alleged that she did not disclose her one-third ownership of a house and another property in Bengaluru which, as per claims in 2018, was valued at Rs.9.21 crore, but was now shown to be worth only 9.3 crore.

The petition also said that Fatima had claimed immovable property valued at Rs.14.5 crore in 2018 but after five years its value stood at only Rs.14.64 crore, “which is also not acceptable”.

Among other things, the petition alleged that the E-stamp paper in which the affidavit is filed by Fatima does not mention the name of the second party, and therefore it was illegal.