The Karnataka High Court on Monday directed the re-issuance of summons to Holenarasipura MLA and JD(S) leader H D Revanna in response to an election petition alleging malpractice. The initial summons issued to him went unserved.
Previously, the high court had directed the issuance of summons through the Legislative Assembly Secretariat. The election petition, challenging Revanna’s victory in the May assembly polls, was filed by defeated BJP candidate G Devarajegowda, who claimed that the JD(S) leader engaged in election malpractice.
The petition came up for hearing again on Monday and senior advocate for the petitioner, Pramila Nesargi, sought the court’s direction to issue the summons through an advertisement in newspapers.
However, the court ruled that the summons should be re-issued in accordance with the rules governing election petitions. A bench of Justice Jyoti Mulimani ordered the re-issuance of the summons and adjourned the hearing for November 29.
The petition alleges that Revanna’s supporters distributed cash and gifts to voters and engaged in violent incidents to influence them. Moreover, inaccuracies are claimed in the property details of Revanna’s wife, Bhavani Revanna. Devarajegowda has asserted that both Revanna and the Congress candidate, Shreyas Patel, who came in second, induced voters with bribes, and therefore, the votes cast for both should be invalidated.
The initial summons in the petition was issued on August 2 but had not reached Revanna. On September 4, the High Court had ordered that the summons be served through the Assembly Secretariat. In the election, Revanna secured 88,103 votes, with Shreyas Patel coming in second with 84,951 votes, and Devarajegowda receiving only 4,850 votes.
