Court takes cognisance of complaint against Smriti Irani

Union Minister Smriti Irani today got a shocker from a Delhi Court as it took cognizance of a complaint accusing her of furnishing false information about her academic qualifications in affidavits she had filed before the Election Commission on different occasions.
The court posted the matter for August 28 when the scribe, who has filed the complaint, will be given an opportunity to record his statement and submit evidence to support the allegations that the Human Resource Development Minister has given false information to the poll panel in the affidavits filed in 2004, 2011 and 2014.
It has been alleged that in the three affidavits filed with the nominations for her candidature for Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha polls, she had purportedly given different details about her educational qualifications.

Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain, who decided to record pre-summoning evidence, ruled out technical objections like delay in filing the complaint now when the first affidavit was filed by Irani way back in 2004 when she had contested the Lok Sabha poll from Chandni Chowk constituency and the second affidavit when she had entered Rajya Sabha in 2011.
The court, after recording the pre-summoning evidence, will decide whether there is enough material to go into the merits of the complaint against Irani, who under law, is not required at this stage to counter the allegations in the court.
In its five-page order, the court held that the issue of delay in launching a criminal prosecution may be considered at the stage of arriving at a final decision and this might not be a ground for dismissing a complaint.

"Keeping in view the date of filing of final affidavit, containing alleged false information by accused/respondent (Irani), i.E. April 16, 2014 and while affording the benefit of section 469(1)(b) CrPC to complainant, it is held that the complaint in question is filed by complainant within the stipulated period of limitation," the court said.
"While taking cognizance upon the complaint, the matter be now fixed for pre-summoning evidence," it said.