Plea challenging Modi’s election adjourned

Tribune News Service
Lucknow, August 21

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday adjourned to September 4 the hearing of a petition challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election from Varanasi.

Former BSF jawan and Samajwadi Party candidate from Varanasi Tej Bahadur Yadav whose nomination papers were rejected by the returning officer on technical grounds had challenged Modi’s election.

The single-judge Bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta is hearing the matter.

Seeking dismissal of the petition, senior advocate appearing on behalf of PM Modi, Satya Pal Jain argued that Yadav’s petition was not maintainable as he had no locus or any right to file an election petition against PM Modi, challenging his May 2019 election from Varanasi.

Jain said under Section 81 of the Representation of People Act, 1951, an election petition could be filed against an elected candidate either by a voter or a duly nominated candidate. 

He said as Yadav was not a voter in the Varanasi parliamentary constituency and as he did not file a certificate issued by the Election Commission along with his nomination papers, his nomination papers were rightly rejected.

The PM’s counsel further argued that as such Yadav was not a duly nominated candidate and hence he does not fall either under the category of an elector or a duly nominated candidate. 

On these grounds Jain demanded the dismissal of the petition without putting it to trial. Yadav had filed the petition stating that his nomination was illegally rejected by the poll officer.