Ranchi:
The Jharkhand High Court today directed the Election Commission to order an inquiry by a specialised agency like the CBI into circumstances leading to the countermanding of the Rajya Sabha elections in the state.
The bench of Chief Justice Prakash Chandra Tatia and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh gave the direction to the EC after rejecting a writ petition praying for quashing of the decision to countermand RS polling in two seats.
The writ was filed by Congress leader and RS candidate Pradeep Kumar Balmachu on Tuesday praying that the EC's decision should be quashed as it was unconstitutional and not within its jurisdiction.
The EC countermanded the RS elections following seizure of Rs 2.15 crore from a car on the outskirts of the city by Income Tax sleuths and the Ranchi police hours before the polling.
The police and IT officials had said that the car allegedly belonged to the kin of industrialist R K Agarwal, who was contesting as an independent candidate.