Lagatar24 Desk
Nagpur, Sept 8: Devendra Fadnavis, the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, was cleared on Friday in a case brought against him for allegedly failing to disclose criminal proceedings that were pending against him in his poll affidavit, which was submitted in advance of the 2014 assembly elections.
While declaring Fadnavis “nirdosh mukta” (acquitted), Civil Judge S S Jadhav remarked that there was no “mens rea” (intention) on his part (to not disclose the relevant information).
Fadnavis who is an MLA from Nagpur, was present in the court virtually.
A Nagpur-based attorney named Satish Uke filed an application for criminal proceedings to be brought against Fadnavis, stating that the BJP leader had been the subject of forgery and cheating cases in 1996 and 1998 but Fadnavis failed to mention this information in his election affidavit.
Fadnavis, who held the position of Chief Minister from 2014 to 2019, had informed the court in April of this year that the failure to disclose the pertinent information was an unintentional error made by his former attorney.
His present lawyers, Deven Chauhan and Uday Dable stated on Friday that the court has ruled that the complainant could not demonstrate that Fadnavis deliberately concealed the two cases in his affidavit, either with the intention or knowledge that such non-disclosure would aid his electoral victory.
“The complainant (Uke) has failed to make out a case against Fadnavis under section 125A of the Representation of People Act,” the lawyers said.
Chauhan said that according to this section, an offence is established solely when an individual conceals pending cases against them with the intention or awareness that such concealment would contribute to their electoral success.
