Supreme Court to hear Chavan's appeal on paid news case in Feb

NEW DELHI: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan‘s appeal challenging the probe by the Election Commission into the authenticity of his expenses during the 2009 state assembly polls allegedly involving paid news will be heard on 3 February.

The directive by Justices Altamas Kabir and S S Nijjar came when counsel Gopal Subramaniam and Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the matter should be heard early as written submissions in the case had already been filed by all the respondents.
 
On 3 November 2011, the apex court had stayed the probe by the Election Commission on Chavan‘s appeal against a Delhi High Court order of 30 September 2011 which had allowed the probe.

While staying the EC probe, the Supreme Court also issued notices to the Commission, the Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party and other complainants including BJP leaders Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Kirit Somaiyya and Madhav Kinhalkar on whose plea the probe was launched.

The complainants include former state minister Madhav Kinhalkar who was defeated by Chavan from Nanded assembly constituency. The Commission had begun proceedings against Chavan on 2 April 2011 on the complaints which alleged he had claimed a poll expenditure of merely Rs 11,000 despite paying money to various newspapers for favourable coverage of his election campaign.