HC orders issuance of notice in defeated TMC leader's poll petition

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday ordered issuance of notice to necessary parties in connection with a petition by Trinamool Congress leader Sangram Kumar Dolai challenging the election of Ashoke Dinda of the BJP from the Moyna Assembly constituency.
Taking up the election petition by Dolai, the TMC candidate defeated by Dinda, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh noted that prima facie, a case has been made out for issuance of notice.
Dinda, a former India cricketer, won by a margin of 1,260 votes from Moyna.
Submitting before the court, Dolai's advocate S K Chakraborty alleged that the BJP candidate of Moyna had suppressed facts and furnished false information while filing his nomination.
Accordingly, under Rule 24 of the Election Petition Rules, 1967, notice was directed to be issued to the necessary parties.
He also alleged that corrupt practices were adopted by Dinda during the process of election.
The matter will now be heard on July 9.
Petitioner Dolai was present before the court through virtual mode during the hearing of his petition.
Dolai is one of the five TMC leaders, including party supremo Mamata Banerjee, who filed election petitions before the high court after losing the poll. The four other TMC leaders who have moved to the Calcutta High Court are Alorani Sarkar, Sangram Kumar Dolai, Manas Majumder and Shantiram Mahato, who lost narrowly in the recent Assembly election to the BJP candidate.
All the four petitions were heard recently by different judges of Calcutta High Court and the matters were posted for further hearing in late June and July. On Thursday, a single Bench of Justice Kausik Chanda reserved order on an application
moved by Mamata Banerjee seeking the judge's recusal from hearing her election petition.