Poll affidavit case: Fadnavis downplays SC''s dimissal of plea

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday sought to downplay the Supreme Court order dismissing his plea seeking review of its 2019 verdict asking him to face trial in the poll affidavit case, saying the cases concerned are "closed".

Fadnavis also said he will present his side before the apex court.

The Supreme Court dismissed his plea seeking review of its 2019 verdict asking him to face trial for allegedly failing to furnish details of two pending criminal cases against him in his 2014 poll affidavit.

The order dismissing the review plea was passed on February 18, but it was uploaded on the apex court's website on Tuesday.

"The petition was dismissed on February 18. Then I appeared before the court on February 20...our proceeding has also begun. Yesterday, only the decision was uploaded," Fadnavis told reporters outside the state legislature building complex here.

"It is not a new decision. I had said on that day also that both the cases are of 1996 and political ones. Those were private cases and hence, our lawyers had taken a call. Both the cases are closed. We will present our case before the court," he added.

In its October 1, 2019 verdict, the apex court set aside the Bombay High Court order which gave a clean chit to Fadnavis and held that he did not deserve to be tried for the alleged offence under the Representation of Peoples Act (RPA).

The two complaints of alleged cheating and forgery were filed against Fadnavis in 1996 and 1998 but charges were not framed.

Meanwhile, Fadnavis observed that there is a "big fear" among people about the novel coronavirus which has claimed scores of lives in neighbouring China.

He said the Centre and the state government were trying to take appropriate care in this regard.

"People also need to take care. Rumours should not be believed," he added.