Hyderabad: The Supreme Court hearing on Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan’s challenge to the rejection of her Rajya Sabha nomination took a significant turn on Friday, with the Bench questioning the legal basis of the petition.
The judges asked senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi to cite any precedent where the Supreme Court intervened in a nomination rejection dispute.
The Bench observed that election laws provide specific remedies for candidates whose nominations election authorities reject.
It also indicated that the court’s role in such disputes remains limited.
Supreme Court hearing focuses on election law provisions
Representing Natarajan, Singhvi argued that police had not registered any FIR against his client.
He told the court that no court had taken cognisance of the complaint cited against her.
According to Singhvi, authorities only sent Natarajan a preliminary notice.
He also referred to Section 33A of the Representation of the People Act.
The senior counsel argued that candidates need to disclose criminal cases in nomination affidavits only after a court takes cognisance and frames charges in offences carrying a punishment of at least two years.
He urged the Bench to consider those provisions while examining the validity of the nomination rejection.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hearing continued on Friday.
The Bench had not delivered its decision when this report was filed.