HC dismisses petition against Supriya Sule

The Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed a petition challenging Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule's election to the Lok Sabha in 2009 on the grounds that she purchased property in Singapore and attained its citizenship. The petitioner's stand was that Sule had suppressed information to the Election Commission.

Justice R C Chavan observed that merely because a person has business interest in a foreign country, it cannot mean that the interest of the country of origin is compromised. Justice Chavan felt there was nothing to show that the information submitted by Sule was incorrect or amounted to suppression of material facts. Therefore, there is nothing based on which Sule's election can be held as void, the court inferred.

The petition was filed by Mrinalini Kakde who had contested the Lok Sabha elections against Sule from Baramati. She had urged the court to declare Sule a non-Indian citizen alleging she purchased property in Singapore and attained citizenship of the country, thereby nullifying Sule's election.

The court said although a person holding a legislative post may be expected to have no interests in another country to ensure her independent functioning, it does not mean Sule owed allegiance to Singapore and had forsaken the country of her origin. "Then Indians would have to confine themselves to India and not pursue any global ambitions," the court observed.

Kakde's lawyer Vaibhav Parshurami had earlier argued that Sule owned movable and immovable properties in Singapore, worked as a director of a company there and held shares and insurance policy and also paid tax. Parshurami had argued that information was suppressed in the form submitted to the EC.

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