New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued notice on a plea filed by BJP leader D Krishna Kumar against the election of Congress leader Dr. HD Ranganath from the Kunigal seat in the Karnataka assembly elections held in 2023.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, in an order passed on September 2, said: “Issue notice, returnable on September 23, 2024. Parmatma Singh, advocate-on-record (AOR) accepts notice on behalf of respondent no.1. Other respondents though not required to be served, the service may be effected to them through dasti notice. Counter affidavit, if any, be filed in the meanwhile".
The bench has scheduled the matter for a hearing later in the month. Kumar had lost to Ranganath, his second defeat from that constituency. He filed an election petition in the Karnataka High Court, which declined to entertain his plea. Kumar moved the apex court challenging the order passed by the High Court.
The High Court had observed that the election petition does not contain a concise statement of material fact and also does not disclose a triable issue or cause of action. The High Court had said that the petitioner’s allegations were based on assumption and imagination. It was alleged that Ranganath distributed dinner sets, kitchen utensils and prepaid cards to woo voters.
