SC won’t interfere with Gujarat Rajya Sabha bypoll

NEW DELHI:In a setback to the Congress, the Supreme Court today refused to entertain its plea against the Election Commission’s decision to hold separate bypolls for two Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat necessitated by the election of BJP chief Amit Shah and party leader Smriti Irani to the Lok Sabha.

S Jaishankar

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 25

In a setback to the Congress, the Supreme Court today refused to entertain its plea against the Election Commission’s decision to hold separate bypolls for two Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat necessitated by the election of BJP chief Amit Shah and party leader Smriti Irani to the Lok Sabha.

A Vacation Bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna said, “You can file an election petition later... but we can’t stall the election process at this stage.”

“What is the violation of fundamental right here? Contesting an election is merely a statutory right. You will have to go in election petition,” the Bench told senior advocate Vivek Tankha, representing Gujarat Congress leader Pareshbhai Dhanani, who had challenged the Election Commission’s decision to hold separate bypolls to two vacant Rajya Sabha seats in the state.

“If separate elections are held for each vacancy, it would result in the victory of ruling party candidates on both seats, upsetting the scheme of proportional representation envisaged under the Representation of People Act,” the petitioner contended.

But the Bench – which also included Justice BR Gavai — was not convinced with Tankha’s submissions for its intervention in the bypoll process. The EC had contended that there was no violation of any fundamental right involved as contesting polls was only a statutory right. It had also pointed out that courts couldn’t interfere in an ongoing election process.

The Supreme Court on June 19 issued notice to the EC on Dhanani’s petition challenging the poll panel’s decision.

Jaishankar files papers post order

After the top court’s order, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Gujarat BJP OBC Cell president Jugalji Thakor on Tuesday filed their nomination papers in Gandhinagar as BJP candidates for RS bypoll on July 5
In the 182-member Gujarat Assembly, the BJP has 100 members and the Opposition 75. If separate polls are held for each vacancy, it would result in victory of ruling party candidates, the petitioner had contended