Today in Ahmedabad, Gujarat High Court in response to petition, accepted the request of petitioner to make the Election Commission of India (ECI) a respondent in a case filed before it claiming that the MBA degree of minister for state for Health Shankar Chaudhari was fake. Next hearing in the case has been scheduled on December 7. The division bench comprising of Acting Chief Justice Jayant Patel and Justice N V Anjaria served a notice to the ECI. In last hearing on October 13, the court had issued notices to the state election commission (SEC), the concerned institute of Mumbai, the chief secretary of Gujarat and the minister of state who is also having charge of Family welfare, Road and Transport and Urban Housing departments. None of them could file reply today.
On October 13, the court while admitting the petition filed by a local Congress leader from Chaudhari’s home constituency Radhanpur in North Gujarat, Farsu Goklani, had also observed that the Election Commission should not remain silent in such serious matters. Goklani complaint has claimed that the MBA degree of the minister was fake. He had filed a complaint to the state election commission in July which has asked him to file an FIR at his own. Goklani today requested the court that as the SEC has no power in this matter the ECI should be made a party. The court accepted it.
