Supreme Court to hear Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan's plea against Rajya Sabha nomination rejection; no stay on results

NEW DELHI: Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan on Thursday moved to the Supreme Court after her nomination papers were rejected for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh.The Supreme Court agreed to hear her petition on Friday but refused to stay the declaration of results.Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Natarajan, sought urgent hearing and argued that she had only been issued a notice in a private complaint case in Telangana and that the court had not taken cognisance, nor had any investigation or chargesheet been filed.He said that under election rules, such a stage does not amount to a 'criminal case' requiring disclosure in nomination papers.Arguing that the Returning Officer wrongly rejected Natarajan’s nomination for allegedly failing to disclose a pending criminal case, Singhvi submitted, "Only summons was issued (against her), not even a cognisance of the case. The Returning Officer disqualifies her."A bench of Justices Prashant Mishra and A S Chandurkar initially said the only remedy for Natarajan is to file an election petition after declaration of results but later agreed to post her petition for hearing on Friday. The plea was opposed by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi.Natarajan’s nomination was rejected after BJP candidate Mahesh Kewat objected, alleging that she had failed to disclose details of a pending case in Telangana.BJP representatives argued that Supreme Court guidelines require disclosure once court proceedings reach a stage where notices are issued.The Congress, however, has maintained that no formal criminal case exists against Natarajan and that only a notice had been issued, making disclosure unnecessary at that stage.The rejection has changed the political balance in the Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh.The BJP, with a strong majority in the 230-member assembly, was already set to win two of the three seats and now has an improved position for the third seat as well.The Congress had enough numbers to secure one seat, but Natarajan’s rejection has weakened its position unless she gets legal or electoral relief.Congress leaders have accused the BJP of attempting a 'constitutional conspiracy', while the BJP has said election authorities only followed legal requirements on disclosure rules.