Supreme Court will hear petition asking for fresh corruption FIR against Mayawati
Highlights
- Court agrees to hear petition asking for fresh corruption FIR against her
- Petition filed by former BSP member; political vendetta says her lawyer
- No new grounds for fresh case against Mayawati: Centre to Supreme Court
Uttar Pradesh politician Mayawati may face fresh charges of corruption with the Supreme Court today agreeing to hear a two-year-old petition asking for investigations to be reopened into whether she amassed crores in illegal wealth when she was chief minister.
A new FIR or complaint raises the possibility of a massive setback for Mayawati ahead of the Uttar Pradesh election next year.
It was the Centre that argued before the court that there are "no new grounds" for a complaint against the former Chief Minister.
The court said it would not pass any immediate order against Mayawati but would hear the petition filed in 2014 by Kamlesh Verma, a former member of her BSP or Bahujan Samaj Party. The CBI had told the court that it has no evidence to pursue a fresh case after its earlier complaint was cancelled by the Supreme Court on technical grounds.
The Centre's lawyer, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, told the court that Mayawati had been cleared by the Income Tax department, which had investigated donations made to her between 1997 and 2003, the period during which the former chief minister is believed to have racked up wealth and property disproportionate to her known sources of income.
"We don't have any other material, so why should we go on registering another FIR?" Mr Rohatgi questioned.
Mayawati's lawyer told the court that the petitioner was out for vendetta after being denied a ticket to contest elections.
60-year-old Mayawati, a four-time chief minister, has rejected alliances for the state polls but is being actively pursued by the main parties in Uttar Pradesh, where Dalits comprise a fifth of voters.