Aspiring legislators should not make light of the affidavits to be filed by them before the Election Commission of India (EC) disclosing their assets and liabilities. An affidavit filed by one such politician during the 2011 Assembly election, claiming to have taken a loan of ₹6.25 crore from a businessman, has landed him in trouble now, with the Madras High Court ordering the discharge of the liability with interest at the rate of 18% per annum from 2013.
The issue relates to the infamous businessman, Arjunlal Sunderdas (since dead), accused of cheating people of several crores of rupees by luring them to invest in his finance and real estate companies. In 2014, the High Court declared him insolvent on the basis of an application filed by one of his creditors. Pursuant to such a declaration, all his properties stood vested with an Official Assignee tasked with clearing his debts.
