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High Court Notices BJP Rajya Sabha MPs in Election Plea
In India, elections choose who sits in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament.
Political parties send candidates, whose paperwork must be checked and accepted before they can run.
Meenakshi Natarajan was a candidate for the Congress party in Madhya Pradesh.
Officials rejected her paperwork, saying she did not mention a court case that was pending against her.
Because her name was removed, voting was cancelled and three candidates from the BJP party won the seats without any votes.
Natarajan says this was unfair and that the rules were not followed properly.
She first asked India's highest court for help, but it said challenges like this should go to another court after the election.
Now the Madhya Pradesh High Court is looking at her complaint.
It has asked the winners and election officials to explain what happened, and it will decide later whether the election was fair.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur issued notices to three BJP Rajya Sabha MPs — Mahesh Kevat, Tarun Chugh and Rajneesh Kumar Agrawal — along with the Election Commission of India and the Returning Officer.
The notices came on an election petition by Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan, whose nomination was rejected on June 9 for allegedly concealing a pending Telangana court case in her election affidavit.
After her nomination was rejected, polling became unnecessary and all three BJP candidates were declared elected unopposed on June 11.
The petition invokes Section 100(1)(c) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, arguing improper rejection of Natarajan's nomination and improper acceptance of Mahesh Kevat's nomination.
The court has not expressed an opinion on the merits of the case; the next hearing is scheduled for September 11.
- Who
- Congress leader and petitioner Meenakshi Natarajan; the three BJP Rajya Sabha MPs Mahesh Kevat, Tarun Chugh and Rajneesh Kumar Agrawal; the Election Commission of India and the Returning Officer, who received notices from the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
- What
- The Madhya Pradesh High Court issued notices in an election petition challenging the rejection of Natarajan's nomination and the unopposed election of the three BJP MPs.
- Where
- At the principal bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur, regarding Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh.
- When
- Notices were issued at a hearing roughly two months after the June election; Natarajan's nomination was rejected on June 9 and the BJP MPs were declared elected unopposed on June 11. The next hearing is September 11.
- Why
- The petition argues her nomination was improperly rejected for allegedly concealing a pending court matter in Telangana in her election affidavit, which allowed all three seats to go uncontested.
Congress / Natarajan side
BJP / Returning Officer side
Rejection of Natarajan's nomination
Congress / Natarajan side
The rejection was legally unsustainable; the Telangana summons was issued during a private complaint before cognizance was taken, so the nomination was improperly rejected and a Rajya Sabha seat was effectively taken away without a contest.
BJP / Returning Officer side
The Returning Officer validly rejected the nomination because her Form 16 affidavit concealed a pending private criminal complaint in Telangana despite her having received summons in the matter.
Validity of the unopposed election
Congress / Natarajan side
If the court finds her nomination was wrongly rejected, the election of all three unopposed BJP MPs should be set aside under Section 100(1)(c) of the Representation of the People Act.
BJP / Returning Officer side
The elections were properly conducted after the rejection, and setting them aside would require the court to find improper rejection or acceptance of nominations.
Acceptance of Mahesh Kevat's nomination
Congress / Natarajan side
The petition challenges the improper acceptance of BJP candidate Mahesh Kevat's nomination papers.
BJP / Returning Officer side
Kevat was validly fielded as the BJP's third candidate and his nomination was properly accepted.
Key facts
- Court
- Madhya Pradesh High Court, Jabalpur (principal bench)
- Petitioner
- Meenakshi Natarajan (Congress)
- Notices issued to
- Mahesh Kevat, Tarun Chugh, Rajneesh Kumar Agrawal, Election Commission of India, Returning Officer
- Nomination rejection date
- June 9
- BJP MPs declared elected
- June 11 (unopposed)
- Electoral arithmetic
- 228 eligible MLAs in the 230-member Assembly; 58 votes needed per seat; BJP had 164 MLAs
- Legal provision cited
- Section 100(1)(c), Representation of the People Act, 1951
- Next hearing
- September 11
Sources
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