Senior Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan has approached the Supreme Court to challenge the rejection of her nomination from Madhya Pradesh for the upcoming June 18 Rajya Sabha elections. Her petition is expected to be mentioned for an urgent hearing today.
Natarajan, a former Lok Sabha MP from Mandsaur and the current AICC in-charge of Telangana, saw her candidature disqualified on June 9 by Returning Officer and Madhya Pradesh Assembly Principal Secretary Arvind Sharma. The disqualification followed objections raised by BJP leaders, including BJP Rajya Sabha candidate Mahesh Kewat and Rahul Kothari.
The BJP leaders alleged that Natarajan’s election affidavit failed to disclose details of a pending legal matter before an Additional Judicial Magistrate in Hyderabad. The matter stems from a 2025 private complaint filed by former Congress worker A. Srilatha, who alleged molestation by a man and accused Natarajan and other senior party leaders of failing to take action.
The Returning Officer’s order noted that while Natarajan had responded to a court notice in Hyderabad in October 2025, she omitted the matter from Form 26 of her nomination papers, rendering her affidavit incomplete.
However, the Congress party has strongly defended Natarajan, arguing that the rejection is legally unsustainable. In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), the party revealed it has also approached the Election Commission, maintaining that no criminal case legally exists against Natarajan.
According to Congress, Natarajan only received a pre-cognizance notice under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), requiring her to show cause why the court should not take cognizance of the private complaint.
“Ms. Natarajan only received a notice to appear before the court and explain why cognizance should not be taken,” the Congress stated. “Without cognizance, no criminal case exists in the eyes of the law. There is no criminal case merely because someone alleges something.”
The party further argued that under Section 33A of the Representation of the People Act, disclosure is only mandatory in cases where charges have been formally framed and the potential punishment exceeds two years. Conversely, the BJP maintains that Supreme Court guidelines strictly require candidates to declare all pending legal matters, making the non-disclosure a disqualifying offense.
The disqualification has dealt a major blow to the Congress party, effectively knocking it out of the race for one of the three vacant Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh.
