HC dismisses Congress plea alleging age discrepancy in BJP Nandigram candidate’s bye-poll affidavit
In her poll affidavit, Hasirani Rath had mentioned her age as ‘60+ years’ and claimed that she cleared Class 10 exam in 1965.
Black News 
The Calcutta High Court dismissed a petition by the West Bengal Congress challenging an alleged discrepancy in the election affidavit of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Nandigram bye-poll candidate, Live Law reported on Tuesday.
The petition had questioned the difference between Hasirani Rath’s declared age and the year in which she claims to have passed her Class 10 examinations.
Rath has not mentioned her date of birth in the affidavit but has stated her age as “60+ years”. In her educational qualifications, she has stated that she passed the Class 10 examination in 1965.
If Rath is between 60 and 65 years of age now, she would have been between four and nine years old in 1965, when she has stated that she passed Class 10.
The Congress argued that the two details were prima facie inconsistent and questioned whether the Election Commission and the returning officer had properly scrutinised her nomination papers.
The party said that if Rath’s declared age was correct, her educational details needed to be verified, and vice versa. It asked the court to direct the authorities to examine the documents submitted by Rath, PTI reported.
During the hearing, the Congress’ lawyer clarified that the party was not seeking cancellation of Rath’s candidature or any order that would delay the election.
The Election Commission opposed the petition, arguing...
