By IANS
New Delhi : The Supreme Court Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking directions to the Election Commission to cancel the nomination papers of United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) presidential candidate Pratibha Patil on the ground that she was in debt to the public exchequer.
A vacation bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and P.K. Balasubramanyan dismissed the petition saying there was no ground for moving the court under Article 32 of the constitution, which empowers a citizen to move the court for violation of fundamental rights.
The bench, however, gave the petitioner, advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, freedom to approach other appropriate authorities, including the Election Commission, for redressal of his grievances.
"This petition is filed under Article 32 of the constitution. We find no ground to interfere and exercise our jurisdiction. However, this will not prevent the petitioner from approaching appropriate authorities for redressal of his grievances," the bench said.
The court also scoffed at the petitioner for not having any documentary evidence to substantiate his allegation that the UPA government's presidential nominee was an "undischarged insolvent", indebted to public exchequer.
The bench asked Sharma if there was any court ruling declaring Patil – UPA's presidential nominee supported by the Left and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) – an undischarged insolvent but the lawyer could not satisfy the court.
According to Sharma, Patil owed Rs.177 million to the public exchequer as founder president and chairperson of the Sant Muktai Cooperative Sugar Factory of Jalgaon in Maharashtra, set up in 1973.
The factory, which essentially happens to be Patil's family business entity, was granted the loan by the Mumbai District Co-Operative Bank under her guarantee as the company's president. It is still run by her brother, said Sharma.
He stated in his petition that a person is not qualified to be elected as president unless he or she is qualified to be elected as a member of parliament according to constitutional provisions. And any person indebted to the public exchequer is not qualified to be elected as a parliamentarian, he added.