The Mumbai High Court on Monday served fresh notice to the Singapore Consulate General's office to provide all the relevant documents in the case of Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule's citizenship by March 2 adding that “they should not test the court's powers.”
The court was hearing an application from Mrinalini Kakade, who alleged hindrances in gathering information with respect to Ms. Sule's citizenship. The initial petition of Ms. Kakade challenged Ms. Sule's election to the Lok Sabha from Baramati in 2009, stating that her election be declared null and void, as she was a non-Indian after acquiring citizenship of Singapore by buying property there.
“They should not test the power of the court, [the] court has many other methods…They should not feel that they can avoid [submitting documents],”Justice J.H. Bhatia said. The High Court issued a fresh letter of request to Mahendran Muthusamy, councillor officer in the Consulate General's office, for deposing before the High Court and directed him to produce all documents pertaining to Ms. Sule's citizenship status.
Pawar influence
Previously, Ms. Kakade had alleged that documents pertaining to her citizenship were not being provided because of her father, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar's influence.
The court had earlier ordered Mr. Muthusamy to provide all the relevant documents after the councillor officer of the Singapore Consulate in Mumbai and the Emigration and Check-point authorities in Singapore both claimed that they were “unable to accede to the request.”
