Rajya Sabha polls: SC declines relief to BJP MLA from MP

New Delhi, June 9: The Supreme Court on Thursday, June 9 refused to entertain a plea of a BJP MLA from Madhya Pradesh seeking modification of an earlier order to enable him to cast his vote in the Rajya Sabha polls on June 11.

Rajendra Kumar Meshram, a BJP lawmaker from Devsar (SC) seat in Singrauli district of the state, had earlier moved the apex court against the High Court order nullifying his nomination on the ground of resorting to unfair means to win the assembly polls in May 2015.

The apex court, while accepting his appeal for hearing, had allowed him to participate in the assembly proceedings without the right to vote. The MLA has moved for modification of the May 5, 2015 order to exercise his franchise in biennial Rajya Sabha polls.

A vacation bench comprising Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy today asked Meshram to approach the regular bench hearing for modification of the order. Counsel appearing for Meshram said his application would become infructuous if it is heard after the summer vacation, as Rajya Sabha poll is scheduled for June 11.

To this, the bench asked "did you not know about the Rajya Sabha polls earlier? It's a 2015 order. Why did you not approach the regular bench then." Meshram's election was challenged by Congress leader Vansh Mani Prasad Verma by way of an election petition in the Madhya Pradesh High Court which had ruled against the BJP legislator.

For the June 11 Rajya Sabha election, the ruling BJP has fielded Anil Dave and M J Akbar as official candidates, while the Congress has put up senior advocate Vivek Tankha as its candidate for the three vacancies from the state.

In the state assembly, the ruling BJP has 166 MLAs, the Congress has 57, the BSP has 4 and there are three independents in the 230-member MP assembly. With BJP MLA Rajendra Meshram being debarred from voting, the BJP now has only 165 votes.

PTI