Daijiworld Media Network – Kolkata

Kolkata, Sep 29: The Calcutta High Court dismissed a petition filed by the West Bengal Congress challenging alleged discrepancies in the age and educational details mentioned in the election affidavit of BJP's Nandigram bypoll candidate Hasirani Rath.

The Congress had alleged that Rath's affidavit showed her age as above 60 while stating that she had passed Class 10 in 1965, raising questions about the consistency of the details.

Justice Krishna Rao dismissed the petition after hearing the arguments. A detailed judgment is expected to be uploaded on the High Court website.

The matter had been heard after the Congress approached the court seeking scrutiny of the documents submitted by Rath for the October 6 Nandigram Assembly bypoll. The party argued that the Election Commission of India was duty-bound to verify the information contained in the affidavit.

The ECI opposed the petition, arguing that the West Bengal Congress had no locus standi to challenge the scrutiny of the candidate's nomination. Its counsel also submitted that scrutiny for the bypoll had been completed on September 17 and that an alleged incorrect statement in an affidavit was not, by itself, grounds for rejecting a candidature.

The Commission further argued that the alleged age discrepancy could not constitute a material defect warranting rejection of Rath's candidature, as there is no maximum age limit for contesting an election.

The Congress, however, maintained that the poll panel should examine the documents submitted by Rath and verify the alleged discrepancies.

The Nandigram Assembly constituency is scheduled to vote on October 6, with counting due on October 9.