SC to hear BSF ex-trooper’s plea against Modi poll win after Diwali

New Delhi, November 4

The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred, till later November, the hearing of sacked BSF constable Tej Bahadur’s plea, challenging the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi constituency in 2019.

A Bench, headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde and comprising Justices AS Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian, said: “We will hear it after Diwali vacation.” 

Tej Bahadur had moved the top court against the Allahabad High Court which dismissed his election petition against the prime minister.

The top court allowed the Centre’s plea to adjourn the hearing in the matter after Diwali vacation.

After his nomination papers as the Samajwadi Party candidate in Varanasi in the 2019 polls were rejected, he had filed a special leave petition before the top court  contending that his nomination papers were rejected by the returning officer allegedly under pressure from the ruling BJP, and urged the top court to set aside the rejection.

Tej Bahadur challenged the validity of the High Court judgment passed in December 2019, where the court declined to entertain his election petition saying it had no locus. It had also observed that he was neither a resident of the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency nor a registered voter.

The trooper was sacked from service after he released a video in 2017 complaining about the quality of food served to personnel of the paramilitary force. — IANS