Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 8: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, seeking his response in an appeal filed by a voter challenging his election victory from the Varuna Assembly constituency in the 2023 state elections.

A two-judge Bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, directed, “Issue notice (to Siddaramaiah).”

The petition before the Supreme Court was filed by K Shankara, a Varuna constituency voter, whose election petition was earlier rejected by the Karnataka High Court in April this year.

Shankara alleged that the five election promises made in the Indian National Congress (INC) manifesto for the 2023 Karnataka polls amounted to bribery and constituted corrupt practice under the Representation of the People Act.

He contended that since the manifesto was issued with Siddaramaiah’s consent, the chief minister himself was complicit in corrupt electoral practices. Consequently, Shankara requested the court to declare Siddaramaiah’s election null and void and to bar him from contesting elections for six years.

In its April order, Karnataka High Court Judge Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav dismissed the plea, ruling that election guarantees could not be construed as corrupt practice. The judge also reprimanded Shankara for the “casual manner” in which the election petition was drafted.

After the High Court’s dismissal, Shankara appealed to the Supreme Court seeking relief.