New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court today imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on AAP MLA Commando Surender Singh for delay in filing his reply to an election petition of BJP leader Karan Singh Tanwar alleging that the legislator has a fake graduation degree.
Joint Registrar (Judicial) Ashutosh Kumar passed the order after the AAP Delhi lawmaker's reply to BJP's legislator petition was not found on record. However, the MLA has filed his response in the petition.
Earlier, the Registrar had granted last opportunity to the AAP MLA.
On May 18, Justice Hima Kohli had sought response from Mr Singh on Mr Tanwar's plea that the MLA had "misrepresented himself to be BA in 2012 from Sikkim University... which amounts to corrupt practice within the meaning of the Representation of the People's Act 195".
"It is submitted that if he was serving in NSG (Indian Army) till the year 2011, it is beyond comprehension that he would have graduated or undertaken and completed his alleged BA course in the year 2012," Mr Tanwar's petition said.
He based his allegation on an RTI reply received from the Sikkim University which said it did not have any record of a student named Surender Singh.
"As per the academic record of the year 2014-15 and all the past academic years, there is no student by the name of Surender Singh," the RTI reply of Sikkim University reads.
"Mr Singh has deprived the voters of Delhi Cantonment of their valuable right to have full and complete information as to his background and qualification," Mr Tanwar said, seeking direction to summon the record of the election affidavit.
On Mr Tanwar's plea to declare Surender Singh's election from Delhi Cantonment to be "void and the same be set aside," the High Court had sought the AAP MLA's response and posted the matter before Joint Registrar for completion of pleadings.
Meanwhile, Mr Singh in his reply denied the allegation leveled by Mr Tanwar terming it as a politically-motivated plea.
Commando Surender Singh is the second Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA after former law minister Jitender Singh Tomar, who is facing allegations over educational qualification and had to step down. Mr Tomar was later arrested in the case. However, he later got bail.
The plea against Tomar was filed by another BJP leader, Nand Kishore Garg, who is seeking his disqualification as MLA.