Berhampur: A local court on Tuesday set aside the election of mayor K. Madhavi for filing misleading information about her and her husband in the affidavit.

Ganjam district judge Malay Ranjan Das pronounced the judgment disposing of an election petition filed by former mayor Siba Shankar Das.

Madhavi's advocate Kishore Chandra Bishoyi said they would move Orissa High Court against the verdict. The court declared her election as illegal as the name of her husband appearing in the affidavit was wrong.

Madhavi had married K. Laxman in 1987 but divorced him by the orders of "kula sabha", a community court, and then married C.H. Venkatraman in 1989. She mentioned her husband's name in her 2013 election affidavit as C.H. Venkateraman, but her rival, who filed the election petition on December 16, 2014 contended that it was wrong as her divorce was not proper. Madhavi had become the first lady mayor of Berhampur Municipal Corporation in 2013.

Das had, in his petition before the district judge, also accused Madhavi of misusing her official power to grab 324 decimals in a posh locality of the city.

Das said Madhavi's father, KBJVPK Babji, had in August 1989 filed a case against the Berhampur Municipality claiming ownership of the said land. After Babji's death, his elder daughter K. Madhavi obtained a legal heir certificate and continued to fight the above case jointly with other family members. At that time, Madhavi had mentioned her name as K. Sai Lakshmi and her husband's name as K. Lakshman Rao.

"Madhavi, during the last civic body election, did not mention her earlier name in the application form to obtain a no-objection certificate. She mentioned her name as K. Madhavi and her husband's name as C.H. Venkateraman and obtained it," Das said.

On the other hand, Madhavi said her name was recorded as K. Madhavi in school and college certificates, but her family members used to call her Sai Lakshmi.