Kerala HC junks pleas of three BJP-NDA candidates challenging rejection of their nominations
Kochi: In a setback to the BJP-NDA front ahead of the April 6 assembly polls, the Kerala High Court on Monday dismissed pleas of its three candidates challenging the rejection of their nomination papers by returning officers.
Justice N Nagaresh accepted the contention of the Election Commission that the court cannot interfere once the notification for the polls has been issued.
BJP's N Haridas and Nivedida Subramanian and its ally AIADMK's candidate, R M Dhanalakshmi had approached the court which met at a special sitting on Sunday to hear their pleas after their nominations were rejected during scrutiny on the ground that their papers were incomplete.
While Haridas and Nivedita had filed their nominations from Thalassery (Kannur) and Guruvayur (Thrissur) constituencies respectively, Dhanalakshmi was proposing to contest from Devikulam in Idukki district.
The petitions had been posted to 12 pm on Monday after the court directed the Electioncommission to file its counter affidavit.
Opposing the pleas, the EC cited the Constitutional provisions contending that since the election process had set in, the court's intervention was not warranted.
Reacting to the development, M V Jayarajan, CPI(M) Kannur district secretary, said "Vote trading between BJP and Congress will backfire".
The matter had snowballed into a controversy since March 20 when the returning officers of the three constituencies rejected the nominations as it did not contain signatures of their party state presidents in requisite forms.
The CPI(M) had alleged that with the rejection of nominations of the NDA candidates in three constituencies, it will create a situation of trading of BJP votes in favour of the Congress-led UDF in these segments.
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Mangaluru contractor loses Rs 15 lakh to scammers
Mangaluru, May 5: A con artist, impersonating a CBI officer, defrauded a contractor in Mangaluru of over Rs 15 lakh by falsely claiming to file a case against him, police said on Sunday.
The victim, a resident of Kottara, was ensnared in this elaborate scam after receiving a distressing call on April 25, they said.
The caller, posing as a CBI official, alleged that threatening calls had originated from the victim's mobile number, coupled with rumors of financial misconduct, police said.
Claiming a case had been registered with the Mumbai CBI office, the imposter threatened to suspend the victim's mobile number unless immediate action was taken, a senior police officer said.
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The situation intensified when the call was transferred to another individual, purportedly a senior CBI officer, who exploited the victim's fear by warning of dire consequences, including the confiscation of bank accounts for alleged misappropriation of funds, he said.
To ostensibly clear his name from the fabricated case, the victim was coerced into transferring Rs 2.99 lakh to a designated account, the officer added.
According to the CEN Police, the victim, trapped in a web of deceit, later received a ‘formal notice’ from the impostor, offering a chance to absolve himself from the fictitious charges by complying with further demands. Succumbing to pressure, the contractor made additional transfers totalling Rs 15,01,049 as instructed by the fraudsters.
Realising that he had fallen victim to a scam, the contractor lodged a formal complaint with the cyber police on May 3, initiating an investigation into the fraudulent activities, police said.
