The Calcutta High Court has dismissed a petition filed by the Congress challenging alleged discrepancies in the age and educational details furnished by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Hasirani Rath in her election affidavit for the Nandigram Assembly bypoll.
The Congress had approached the court seeking Rath’s disqualification, alleging inconsistencies between her stated age and the year in which she claimed to have passed her Madhyamik examination.
The dispute centres on Rath’s election affidavit, which reportedly mentions 1965 as the year she passed the Class 10 examination, while her stated age places her birth around the same period. The Congress argued that the two entries were inconsistent and required scrutiny by the Election Commission.
Congress sought cancellation of BJP candidate’s nomination
The petition was moved by Congress leaders, with advocate Ritzu Ghosal appearing for the party before Justice Krishna Rao.
The Congress argued that the Election Commission had a statutory responsibility to scrutinise the documents submitted by candidates and take action if discrepancies were found.
During the earlier hearing, Ghosal had submitted that the party was not seeking to disrupt the electoral process. “There are other candidates as well. It is a statutory duty cast upon the EC to verify documents,” he argued, according to reports.
The Congress maintained that if Rath’s educational qualification was found to be incorrect, her candidature should be cancelled.
The BJP has rejected the Congress’s allegations, maintaining that there was no discrepancy in Rath’s age.
The party claimed that the reference to 1965 as the year of passing the Madhyamik examination was a typographical error and that Rath had actually studied in Class 10 in 1980.
The BJP also released a certificate issued by the school, which reportedly records Rath’s date of birth as June 8, 1965.
Rath had earlier expressed confidence in the judicial process, saying, “Whichever courts they go, they can. Law will take its own course. I have full faith in law and will abide by it.”
The legal dispute comes amid heightened political activity ahead of the Nandigram bypoll, where Rath is contesting for the BJP.
The Congress had earlier approached the Election Commission seeking an impartial inquiry into the alleged discrepancies in the affidavit. The party’s state leadership had questioned the poll panel’s response to the complaint.
