PATNA: The Patna High Court on Friday withdrew its earlier order granting permission to RJD leader Subhash Yadav to file nominations in the upcoming Jharkhand assembly election.
Subhash Yadav, who is currently lodged in the Beur central jail in Patna, has been fielded as RJD candidate from the Koderma assembly seat in Jharkhand. He is considered a formidable candidate for the seat, close to the Bihar border. The illegal sand mining case is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.
A bench of Patna High Court of Justice Arvind Singh Chandel withdrew its order after the state government raised objections over permission granted to Subhash Yadav for filing nomination papers for the assembly elections in Jharkhand. As per the state government’s petition, ED was not mentioned as a party while seeking permission to file of nominations for the election.
Upon hearing both sides, the court expressed its dismay over the grant of permission and withdrew its October 22 order. The court, however, allowed the petitioner to file a fresh petition after mentioning ED as a party as Subhash is under judicial custody in the case being probed by the central agency. The matter will be put before the chief justice of the high court later.
The high court in its October 22 order had asked the state police to produce the petitioner (Subhash Yadav) before the returning officer of the Koderma assembly seat so that he could formally submit his nomination papers for the upcoming assembly polls. A copy of the order of the court was also sent to the superintendent of the Beur central jail in Patna. With the fresh order issued on Friday, Subhash will not be able to file his nominations.
Senior counsel Y B Giri and Suraj Shamdarshi represented the petitioner in the court. Koderma seat is held by the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2019 election, BJP candidate Nira Yadav won the election after defeating her nearest rival Amitabh Kumar of RJD by 1650 votes. While Nira had polled 63,282 votes, Amitabh had secured 61,632 votes. Shalini Gupta of AJSU was placed third with 44,572 votes.
RJD is contesting six seats in the upcoming assembly elections in Jharkhand. Senior leaders—Lalu Prasad and his younger son and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav—are among the star campaigners of the RJD, who will seek votes in favour of the party candidates. The assembly elections in Jharkhand are to be held in two phases from November 13 to November 20 to elect all 81 members of Jharkhand legislative assembly. The counting of votes will take place on November 23.