SC to hear Chavan's "paid news" row on February 3
PTI | 07:01 PM,Jan 03,2012New Delhi, Jan 3 (PTI) The Supreme Court today posted for February first week the final hearing of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's plea challenging the Election Commission's probe into the authenticity of his expenses during 2009 state assembly polls allegedly involving paid news. A bench of justices Altamas Kabir and S S Nijjar said it would take up the matter for hearing around February 3 after counsel Gopal Subramanium and Abhisekh Manu Singhvi told the court that since written submissions in the case had already been filed by all the respondents, the matter may be taken up for early hearing. On November 3, the apex court had stayed the probe by the Election Commission on Chavan's appeal against a Delhi High Court order which had allowed the probe. While staying the EC probe, the apex court bench also issued notices to the poll watchdog, Maharashtra unit of BJP and other complainants, including BJP leaders Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Kirit Somaiyya and Madhav Kinhalkar on whose plea the probe was launched. The high court had on September 30 given the EC its green signal to go ahead with the probe into Chavan's poll account on the complaints of also former state minister Madhav Kinhalkar who was defeated by Chavan from Nanded assembly constituency. The EC had begun proceedings against Chavan on April 2 on the complaints which alleged he had claimed a poll expenditure of merely Rs 11,000 despite paying money to various newspapers for favourable coverage of his election campaign.
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