The Karnataka High Court, on Monday, ordered issue of notices to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and former Union Minister M. Veerappa Moily on a petition complaining that the ECI failed to initiate action against Mr. Moily for allegedly providing incorrect information on his election expenditure.
Justice B.S. Patil passed the order on a petition filed by former Minister B.N. Bachchegowda of the BJP, who lost the elections held to the Chickballapur Parliamentary Constituency against Mr. Moily.
It has been pointed out in the petition that the returning officer of the constituency had made public that there were discrepancies in the statement of accounts filed by Mr. Moily on his election expenses and the shadow account maintained by the election expenditure monitoring committee of the constituency. It was found that Mr. Moily had spent Rs. 73.28 lakh as against the maximum limit of Rs. 70 lakh, the petitioner said.
The petitioner said the ECI, despite being aware of the discrepancy, had failed to initiate suo motu proceedings for disqualification. Mr. Bachchegowda also complained that the ECI did not even act against Mr. Moily even after he made a representation in this regard way back in July this year.
