RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, May 5: The Jharkhand High Court hearing the petition challenging the SC status of BJP legislator Samri Lal directed the petitioner to produce the list of witnesses and also directed the petitioner to come prepared to be examined as a witness on the next date of hearing deferred for four weeks.
The petitioner in the case is Suresh Baitha. He had contested the 2019 election as a Congress candidate from the Kanke constituency from where Lal had been declared elected.
Baitha through his petition informed the court that Lal being a native of Rajasthan does not deserve SC status in Jharkhand and thus it was wrong on his part to contest election from Kanke, which is reserved for SC.
According to Baitha, Lal being an outsider has general status in Jharkhand and thus his status of the legislator from the SC reserved constituency be cancelled.
Lal countered the demand saying it was not the first time he contested the election as SC from Kanke. He said that before contesting the election as a BJP candidate he also contested elections from other parties. He said he holds a valid caste certificate duly verified by competent authorities. He said that the certificate was provided to him when Jharkhand used to be part of Bihar and with reorganization of the state that cannot be declared wrong.
