The hearing into allegations against Madhu Koda will be taken up for hearing on May 26.
As it plans to grill two former chief ministers – Ashok Chavan and Madhu Koda – over their alleged involvement in cases relating to paid news, the Election Commission has already confirmed as many as 787 cases of paid news in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Of the 3,100 notices that have been issued to candidates for having indulged in paid news, 787 have been confirmed by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committees (MCMCs) set up the Election Commission.
The maximum number of notices – 2,168 in all – have been issued in Andhra Pradesh. "Of these, 116 have already been confirmed as those of paid news," a source in the poll panel told The Indian Express.
In Rajasthan, of the total 267 notices served, 223 have been confirmed as cases of paid news. Similarly, 152 out of the 182 notices issued in Punjab have already been confirmed as those of paid news. All the 86 notices issued in Uttar Pradesh have been confirmed as paid news, sources said.
Officials in Nirvachan Sadan said the MCMCs set up at the local levels were processing these cases and many more notices could soon get converted into confirmed cases of paid news.
Meanwhile, the next hearing in the complaint against Ashok Chavan has been scheduled for May 30.
"We have asked both the complainant and the respondent to present their respective sides on May 26. Once that is in, the next hearing will take place," a source in the Election Commission said.
The hearing into allegations against Madhu Koda willbe taken up for hearing on May 26.