HC junks plea against Kappan’s election

Kochi: A petition challenging the election of Mani C Kappan from the Pala constituency in the 2021 assembly election has been dismissed by the high court.Justice C Jayachandran on Tuesday rejected the election petition filed by C V John, who contested as an independent candidate from Pala. John alleged that Kappan exceeded the permitted campaign expenditure as defined by the Representation of the People Act. He claimed that Kappan spent beyond the maximum allowable amount of Rs 30.80 lakh and submitted false accounts. However, the bench noted that the petitioner failed to provide sufficient evidence and details to support these allegations. Although the petition has been dismissed, a detailed judgment is still awaited.Another petition by Sunny Joseph, a voter from Pala, challenging Kappan's election is still pending before the high court. In the election, Kappan defeated UDF candidate Jose K Mani by a margin of 15,378 votes. C V John secured 249 votes.
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