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Informist, Friday, Jun. 12, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Friday rejected Indian National Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan's plea against the rejection of her nomination for the Rajya Sabha election by the returning officer in Madhya Pradesh. The court said that once the nomination of a candidate is rejected by the returning officer, the only remedy is to approach the Election Commission.

 

"We are afraid that any such interpretation that in some of the matters this Court can interfere while leaving some others to avail the remedy of the election tribunal cannot be encouraged," a bench of Justice P.K. Mishra and Justice A.S. Chandurkar observed, as reported by LiveLaw.

 

Natarajan's nomination for the Rajya Sabha election in Madhya Pradesh was rejected by the returning officer citing alleged non-disclosure of a pending case in Telangana.

 

Appearing for Natarajan, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that under Section 33A of the Representation of the People Act, only criminal cases where charges have been framed by a trial court need to be disclosed in the nomination. He added that as per Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, the potential accused has to be sent a notice before cognisance can be taken of a private complaint.

 

Singhvi argued that a candidate is supposed to disclose only criminal cases under which he or she can be sentenced for at least two years in prison. In the present matter, his client had only received a notice under Section 223, and no cognisance had been taken of the complaint by the court.

 

The Congress had earlier also approached the Election Commission of India, which has so far not taken any action on its plea.

 

Meanwhile, the BJP Thursday swept the Rajya Sabha poll in Madhya Pradesh, winning unopposed all three seats up for election.

 

Earlier in the day, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari said the rejection of Meenakshi Natarajan's Rajya Sabha nomination was an "unprecedented" development in Indian politics and raises concerns about the state of democracy in the country.

 

"The first case, the first such incident in Indian politics where a Rajya Sabha nomination has been cancelled," Patwari said at a press conference here. "There is a deep-seated feeling in the minds of the common public: will democracy survive in this country, or is the nation heading towards autocracy and dictatorship?"  End

 

Reported by Asim Khan

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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