Meenakshi Natarajan Challenges Rajya Sabha Nomination Rejection in Supreme Court

Meenakshi Natarajan's Legal Battle

Meenakshi Natarajan's Controversy: Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan has approached the Supreme Court to contest the rejection of her Rajya Sabha nomination papers. In her petition, she alleges that the returning officer acted in an illegal, arbitrary, and biased manner. She is seeking an immediate annulment of this decision. It is anticipated that her petition will be mentioned in the Supreme Court today for an expedited hearing.

Recently, during the elections for three Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, Natarajan's nomination was dismissed by returning officer Arvind Sharma. The order stated that during the verification of documents, it was found that Natarajan failed to disclose a pending complaint in her Form-26 submitted with the nomination papers. Consequently, her affidavit was deemed incomplete. Following the rejection of her nomination, the Congress party staged significant protests in Madhya Pradesh. With no timely response from the Election Commission, Natarajan has opted for legal recourse.

Now, Natarajan has turned to the Supreme Court for justice. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi will represent her in this matter. Singhvi is expected to request the vacation bench of the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing of the petition, aiming to have the case listed promptly. The Congress party claims that they had previously presented a strong case before the Election Commission. However, with the deadline for withdrawing nominations approaching on June 11 and no substantial response received late into the night, they felt compelled to seek judicial intervention.