Published Jun 10, 2026 | 9:44 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 10, 2026 | 10:17 PM
Meenakshi Natarajan. (X)
Synopsis: Soon after meeting the Election Commission, the Congress moved the Supreme Court against the rejection of Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh, and requested an urgent hearing.
The Congress has approached the Supreme Court against the returning officer’s decision rejecting Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination to contest the Rajya Sabha polls from Madhya Pradesh.
Natarajan’s nomination was rejected after the BJP complained that she had failed to mention a case registered against her in Telangana.
While moving the apex court on Wednesday, 10 June, the Congress requested an urgent hearing. The party has been maintaining that Natarajan was not facing a case in Telangana, and only a notice was served to her.
Earlier in the day, a delegation of 10 Congress leaders, including MPs KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Surjewala, met the Election Commission (EC).
Natarajan was also among the people who met the EC.
Congress General Secretary Venugopal said the delegation held a detailed discussion with the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners. He added that they presented the proper facts and figures.
Senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the criminal case, cited to reject Natarajan’s nomination, does not exist, as the competent judge has yet to take cognisance.
Also Read: Who sank Meenakshi Natarajan’s Rajya Sabha bid?
Meanwhile, civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad on Wednesday said the returning officer had violated the law by rejecting Natarajan’s nomination.
“Under Section 33 B of the Representation of People’s Act, it has been provided that nothing contained in any order or direction of the court or any other order by the ECI, no candidate shall be liable to disclose or furnish any such information in respect of his election which is not required to be disclosed or furnished under this Act or the rules made thereunder, ” she argued in an X post.
She also asked why the news media were not asking whether charges had been framed.
Setalvad further said that the disclosure was not required till the charges were framed, and hence “RO has acted illegally…and should be agitated against and prosecuted”.
The alleged case the BJP mentioned pertained to a complaint by a woman, A Srilata, who approached the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Hyderabad on 20 August 2025. The complainant had named Natarajan as accused number four.
The court issued a notice to Natarajan on 17 September 2025, asking her to submit a response in person. In a counter-affidavit filed on 24 October, Natarajan’s lawyer denied the charge and alleged that the complaint was politically motivated.
Though the lawyer sought the dismissal of the case, the court did not entertain the request. The case is pending before the court.
Incidentally, the incident has shed light on the possible rift within the Congress.
Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, on Tuesday, 9 June, hinted that infighting in the Congress shattered Natarajan’s — and the party’s — hope of bagging a Rajya Sabha seat.
“We’re getting papers from Telangana, where their (the Congress) government is in power. It must have been the Congress people themselves who gave us the information — this is the state of the Congress,” he told reporters in Bhopal.
