New Delhi: The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Friday a plea by Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan against the rejection of her nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections from Madhya Pradesh.
Natarajan on Thursday moved the apex court seeking an urgent hearing in the matter. Senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi appearing for Natarajan alleged that her nomination was summarily rejected on wrong legal ground.
The apex court said it would hear the plea on Friday but noted that "real legal recourse is to file election petition after electoral process".
Elections for the three Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh will be held on June 18. Events took a dramatic turn on Tuesday when Natarajan's nomination was rejected for allegedly failing to disclose a summons issued by a court in Telangana.
An order issued by Rajya Sabha Election Returning Officer Arvind Sharma stated that after examining the available documents, it was found that Natarajan had submitted an incomplete affidavit, omitting a court complaint in Form 26 submitted with her nomination.
According to a Madhya Pradesh assembly official, the ruling BJP candidate, Mahesh Kewat, filed a complaint with the returning officer alleging that Natarajan had not mentioned in her affidavit a case registered against her in Telangana.
June 8 was the last date for filing nominations and scrutiny of papers began on Tuesday.
The Congress is likely to seek President Droupadi Murmu's intervention in the matter as well after it said it failed to get a response from the Election Commission in the case.
Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Jitu Patwari said the party, apart from moving the Supreme Court, would launch state-wide agitations and conduct a public awareness campaign.
ఇవి కూడా చదవండి
"Congress will gherao (hold protests) across the state, from BJP offices to the Chief Minister's residence. On Friday, Congress MLAs will meet the President and seek protection for democracy," Patwari said.
On Wednesday, an AICC delegation comprising KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Vivek Tankha, Mohammad Ali Khan, Randeep Surjewala, Sachin Pilot, Bhupesh Baghel, Deepa Das Munshi and Meenakshi Natarajan met the Election Commission over the issue.
Singhvi argued that the Election Commission has the authority to reverse the Returning Officer's decision.
"The decision of the Returning Officer is legally wrong. The basis on which Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination was rejected is not a criminal case. She was only issued a notice," Singhvi said.
The Congress leader explained his party's position, claiming that the Returning Officer's decision to reject her nomination was "legally unsustainable".
He said that there was no criminal case pending against Natarajan and the matter cited as the reason for rejecting her nomination relates only to a notice where the court has yet to decide whether to take cognisance.
"Election Commission rules require disclosure only in cases where offences carry a punishment of more than two years and where relevant legal conditions are met," Singhvi said.
The court, he said, has not yet taken cognisance of the matter, and several legal stages remain pending. "Rejecting a nomination on this basis goes against constitutional principles and democratic norms," the senior Congress leader said.
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh also questioned the Returning Officer's decision. "The decision of the Returning Officer is completely unconstitutional. We are united in this fight and will take it forward collectively,” he said after a meeting at the MPCC headquarters in Bhopal.
