New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Election Commission on a plea seeking the disqualification of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The petitioner had alleged that the JD(U) chief did not disclose in his election affidavits that an FIR was lodged against him in a murder case.
The order was passed by the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, who took up the criminal writ petition filed by Delhi lawyer ML Sharma,
In his plea, Sharma had demanded that the Bihar CM be disqualified as a legislator for allegedly hiding his “criminal records” during the elections between 2004 and 2012.
The petitioner had also claimed that the JD(U) chief had never opted for bail in the non-bailable offence since 1991, thanks to his constitutional power and succeeded in getting the police to file a closure report after 17 years.
Demanding that the investigation against the CM be conducted afresh, the petition also asked for a generic declaration by the Supreme Court that no person having FIR and criminal cases against him can be appointed to any constitutional office.
In July, after Nitish Kumar broke away from his grand alliance partner and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, the latter had contended that Nitish did so fearing “exposure” in the murder case.
