Kerala High Court dismisses election petition of UDF candidate
The agents of the candidate had paid a bribe of Rs 25,100 to the namesake candidate
Kochi: Kerala High Court on Friday dismissed the petition challenging the election of UDF candidate Anto Antony from Pathanamthitta parliament constituency. Justice V. Chitambaresh, who dismissed the petition filed by S. Manoj of Adoor, pointed out that the namesake candidate was not made a party in the election petition.
Section 82 (B) of the Act mandates that any candidate against whom allegations of corrupt practice are made should be made parties to the petition.
The petitioner alleged that the UDF candidate indulged in corrupt practices under section 123(1)(A)(a) of the Representation of the People Act. Anto, his brother Charles Antony and the agents fielded one Peelipose Thomas from Ranni with the aim of defeating the LDF-backed independent candidate Peelipose Thomas.
The petitioner pointed out that the nomination of the namesake candidate, Peelipose Thomas, was submitted by Alex Marshall, a Congress leader from Ranni block committee.
The security deposit of the namesake candidate, amounting to Rs 10,000, was also deposited by Alex. The agents of the candidate had paid a bribe of Rs 25,100 to the namesake candidate, he said.