The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to halt the ongoing electoral process for the Rajya Sabha elections from Madhya Pradesh, even as it agreed to hear on Friday a plea by Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan challenging the rejection of her nomination papers.
A bench of justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Atul S Chandurkar declined to pass any interim order preventing the declaration of the election result, observing that the law laid down by the Supreme Court in ‘Election Commission of India vs Ashok Kumar (2000)’ was clear that courts should ordinarily refrain from intervening once the electoral process has commenced.
The court’s order came amid concerns raised by the Congress that Thursday was the last date for withdrawal of nominations and that, with Natarajan’s candidature having been rejected, BJP candidates could be declared elected unopposed once the withdrawal deadline expired.
Seeking urgent intervention, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared for Natarajan, told the bench that the matter involved a serious legal issue concerning disclosure requirements under Section 33A of the Representation of the People Act.
The court agreed to list the matter for hearing on Friday, despite opposition from senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for BJP leaders, who had objected to Natarajan’s nomination before the returning officer.
