Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah on Tuesday filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the Election Commission to slap a hefty fine on him.

The Election Commission had imposed a fine of Rs 750,000 on Shah on the charge of not submitting details of election expenses on time.

The Kathmandu Mayor, in the writ, has argued that he had furnished the election expenses on time. He said he had submitted the details to Kathmandu District Election Office on June 26 as the 30-day deadline for the submission expired on Saturday, which according to him, is acceptable.

The commission had fined mayors of six metropolises charging them with violating clause 26(1) of the Election Commission Act which requires candidates to submit expenditure details within 30 days of the announcement of the final results. A total of 123,624 candidates faced the music for not submitting expenditure details timely.

Shah has demanded the court issue an interim order until a verdict on the case is passed. He has further argued that Sections 26 (3) and 26 (5) of the Act contradict the constitution.