SC rejects ex-BSF man’s petition challenging Modi’s election from Varanasi

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 24

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected ex-BSF man Tej Bahadur’s petition challenging the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency in 2019.

A Bench headed by CJI SA Bobde, which had reserved its order on Tej Bahadur’s petition on November 18, said his election petition was rightly dismissed by the Allahabad High Court.

Bahadur, who was dismissed from BSF in 2017 after he posted a video online alleging that poor quality food was served to the troops, contended his nomination papers were wrongly rejected.

The top court had on November 18 rejected the petitioner’s counsel’s repeated requests to adjourn the hearing, saying the matter had already been adjourned thrice at his instance.

“This is too important a matter to be adjourned so many times. The respondent occupies a unique office. He is the PM of India,” the top court had noted.

“Why should we grant you liberty for adjournment. You are abusing the process of law. You argue,” the CJI had told Bahadur’s counsel declining his request refused to adjourn the hearing, noting if his nomination was rightly or wrongly rejected depended on his eligibility.

The counsel submitted that Bahadur had earlier filed his nomination as an independent candidate and later as a candidate of the Samajwadi Party.

The Returning Officer rejected his nomination papers on May 1, 2019, observing that “the nomination paper is not accompanied by a certificate issued in the prescribed manner by the Election Commission to the effect that he has not been dismissed for corruption or disloyalty to the state”.

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