Tuesday, April 18 2006 14:58 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The petitioners Kolkata-resident Dinesh Trivedi and two NGOs had sought directions to the Union Home Ministry to publish all reports of Election Observers and 88 reports of State Chief Electoral Officer Afzal Amanullah, including his final report, about 'serious irregularities' in the conduct of the 2004 Lok Sabha polls.

A Bench headed by Justice Ruma Pal asked the petitioners to invoke the Right to Information Act to get copies of the said reports and the action taken therein, which were the basis of the petition seeking countermanding of the elections.

As the Court was not inclined to entertain the PIL, the petitioners' counsel chose to withdraw it and the same was 'dismissed as withdrawn'.

Earlier, on April seven, Trivedi along with Ahmedabad-based Consumer Education and Research Society and Delhi's Centre for Media Studies, had moved the apex Court alleging serious irregularities by the CPI(M) during the general elections which were reported to the Home Ministry.

They had asked the Court to call for information about the Action Taken Report and direct the Centre to accept and implement the recommendations made in the Amanullah Report.

They had sought a direction to the Home Ministry to take steps to ensure that the irregularities pointed out by Amanullah are not repeated.