HC disqualifies Congress MLA Jogesh Singh

Cuttack: The election of Congress MLA Jogesh Kumar Singh to the Sundergarh Assembly Constituency was declared null and void by the Orissa High Court today on grounds of submitting fake caste certificate while filing his nomination for the 2014 Assembly Elections.

The court pronounced the order during the hearing of two separate petitions. BJP candidate Sahadev Xaxa, who lost to Singh in the 2014 Assembly Elections, and another voter Ajay Patel had alleged that Singh submitted false and fabricated caste certificate categorising himself as 'Bhuyan' tribe.

As per sources, the court found out that Singh belongs to 'Khandayat Bhuyan' community which is not a Scheduled Tribe.

It is worthwhile to mention that Sundergarh constituency is reserved for Scheduled Tribe, in accordance with the provisions of Article 332 of Constitution of India and as per Section 5 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.