Assembly secy refuses to prosecute Jaya for false affidavit

The EC asked Shukla to file his complaint before the Returning Officer (RO) for the Rajya Sabha elections — currently the principal secretary of the UP assembly. The EC also referred the matter to the UP Assembly,asking the RO to file an FIR under Section 195 of the CrPC against her.

According to sources,Dube conveyed to the EC that a returning officer is on deputation with the EC only from the time of notification of election till the results were declared. Now being under the administrative control of the Speaker of the UP Assembly,he had no jurisdiction to initiate prosecution proceedings.

Further,before lodging an FIR,a probe has to be undertaken and he has no jurisdiction to conduct an inquiry either. Dube said in 2004,he was not the returning officer. RP Pandey,who was then RO,has since retired. Hence,the EC was the only competent authority to take action.

Bachchan was disqualified from the membership of the Rajya Sabha in March 2004 for holding an office of profit as chairperson of the UP Film Development Council. Soon after,Congress president Sonia Gandhi had also resigned from the membership of the Lok Sabha for holding the post of chairperson of the National Advisory Council.

But the SP re-nominated Bachchan for the Rajya Sabha and she was elected in June 2004. The Congress leader,through an RTI application,found that she continued to hold the post even after June 2004.

In October 2009,Dube had refused to conduct an inquiry against then Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh for alleged concealment of assets in the affidavit filed during the Rajya Sabha elections in November 2008.In December 2008,the US media carried reports that Singh had contributed Rs 43 crore to the Clinton Foundation. In February 2009,one Vishwanath Chaturvedi filed a petition before the Election Commission,alleging Singh had concealed information about his assets. Chaturvedi said Amar Singh had disclosed assets worth Rs 37 crore,but had made a donation of Rs 43 crore to the Clinton Foundation. He also raised the question whether Singh had taken the mandatory permission of the Reserve Bank of India for the transaction.

In March 2009,the EC directed Dube to look into the complaint. In his letter to the EC on April 6,Dube wondered why the RO should inquire into the issue when the commission had full power to do this. He also said as the Returning Officer,his role ended after the completion of the election process.

On July 6,the EC told Dube that as the returning officer,he was the custodian of all records related to the election and therefore,his role did not end after the completion of the election. The EC “directed” Dube to look into the complaint. In his reply to the Commission in October 2009,Dube said he cannot ascertain the veracity of the affidavit without conducting an inquiry and,as the returning officer,had no authority to conduct an inquiry. He also told the EC that the Chief Electoral Officer of UP,who was under the direct control of the EC,had all documents and the related papers.