The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan's plea challenging the rejection of her Rajya Sabha nomination from Madhya Pradesh, advising that the only remedy for her is to approach the Election Commission.
A bench comprising Justices PK Mishra and AS Chandurkar held that Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan's petition challenging the rejection of her nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections was not maintainable.
"However erroneous the decision may be, once a nomination is rejected, the remedy ordinarily lies elsewhere. Is there any judgment of this Court where we have interfered at that stage?" the bench observed.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Natarajan, argued that the case warranted judicial intervention. He contended that candidates are required to disclose only those criminal cases that carry a minimum punishment of two years, whereas in the present case, only summons had been issued, and no such requirement was attracted.
"Show us any judgment where we have interfered in the rejection of nomination papers. Once a nomination is rejected, the remedy is to approach the Election Commission," the Supreme Court said.
Setback to democracy: Natarajan reacts
Reacting to the Supreme Court's rejection of her plea, Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan said the decision was not a personal setback but one that affected "democracy and the Constitution of India."
"I had said from the beginning that the members of the Election Commission were compromised. When our representatives approached the Election Commission, they did not receive any response for 48 hours. At least the Supreme Court heard our plea and delivered a verdict," she said.
In his order, Rajya Sabha Election Returning Officer Arvind Sharma stated that a scrutiny of the documents submitted with the nomination papers revealed that Meenakshi Natarajan had filed an incomplete affidavit. According to the order, she failed to disclose a court complaint in Form 26 submitted along with her nomination.
A Madhya Pradesh Assembly official said the issue came to light after BJP candidate Mahesh Kewat lodged a complaint with the returning officer, alleging that Natarajan had omitted details of a case registered against her in Telangana from her election affidavit.
