New Delhi, 11 June (H.S.): Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan has approached the Supreme Court challenging the rejection of her nomination papers for a Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the petition on June 12.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Natarajan, mentioned the matter before a vacation bench headed by Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra on Thursday and sought an urgent hearing. He requested that the petition be taken up either on Thursday or Friday, pointing out that June 11 was the last date for withdrawal of nominations.

Singhvi also urged the court to stay the declaration of the Rajya Sabha election result. He argued that Natarajan’s nomination had been rejected on the ground that she allegedly failed to disclose details of a criminal case pending against her.

According to Singhvi, the criminal case referred to by the Returning Officer has not yet reached the stage where cognisance has been taken by a court. He submitted that only a pre-cognisance summons under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) had been issued in the matter.

Singhvi further contended that under Section 33A of the Representation of the People Act, candidates are required to disclose only those criminal cases in which a court has already taken cognisance. Therefore, he argued, the rejection of Natarajan’s nomination was legally unsustainable.

During the hearing, the bench questioned the maintainability of the petition, observing that courts generally do not interfere through interim orders in election-related matters. In response, Singhvi submitted that judicial intervention is permissible in cases involving a serious and apparent error.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the opposing candidate, and advocate D.S. Naidu, representing the Election Commission, also raised objections regarding the maintainability of the petition.

After hearing the preliminary submissions, the Supreme Court decided to list the matter for hearing on June 12.

Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination papers were rejected by Returning Officer Arvind Sharma on the ground that she had allegedly failed to disclose a criminal case pending against her in Telangana in her nomination documents.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar