New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan challenging the rejection of her nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections. The court held that such disputes cannot be examined through a writ petition and must instead be raised through an election petition.
A Bench comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice A.S. Chandurkar observed that Article 329 of the Constitution restricts judicial intervention in the electoral process. The court said it could not entertain the matter under its writ jurisdiction.
The Bench clarified that it was not expressing any opinion on whether the Returning Officer’s decision to reject Natarajan’s nomination was correct or incorrect.
“The remedy for such election-related disputes lies in filing an election petition,” the court observed, adding that Natarajan remains free to challenge the decision through the appropriate legal route.
The controversy relates to the election for the third Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh. The Congress had fielded Meenakshi Natarajan as its candidate and claimed to have sufficient legislative strength to secure the seat. However, her nomination was rejected on June 9 after the BJP objected that she had allegedly failed to disclose details of a criminal case in her nomination papers.
Accepting the objection, Returning Officer Arvind Sharma cancelled her nomination, effectively clearing the way for BJP candidates.
During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Natarajan, argued that she had been excluded from the electoral contest at the very initial stage. He contended that she should have been allowed to contest the election and that the democratic process should have been allowed to determine the outcome.
Following the Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene, Natarajan criticised the development, alleging that while votes were allegedly “stolen” in the past, this time an entire seat had been taken away.
With Natarajan’s nomination rejected, BJP candidates Rajneesh Agrawal, Tarun Chugh and Mahesh Kewat were declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh. Election certificates were formally issued to all three candidates on Thursday.
