New Delhi, February 24 The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea by Congress MLA Devendra Yadav challenging the maintainability of a petition against his election to the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi refused to interfere with the Chhattisgarh High Court's order and said Yadav could approach the high court for relief.
The bench stated that all rights and arguments could be raised before the high court.
Senior advocates Narinder Hooda and Sumeer Sodhi represented Yadav in the matter.
Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, representing BJP leader Prem Prakash Pandey, who has challenged Yadav's election from the Bhilai Nagar constituency, stated that the court had stayed the proceedings for over a year, and the court might direct completion within six months.
The bench clarified that it was not setting a timeline for the trial.
On February 21 last year, the Supreme Court stayed the proceedings against Yadav's election to the legislative assembly. It had also issued a notice to Pandey in response to Yadav's plea.
Earlier, the Congress leader had argued that the high court had erred in dismissing the application under Order 7 Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code, questioning the maintainability of Pandey's election petition.
Pandey, representing the BJP, challenged Yadav's election, arguing that Yadav had not disclosed correct facts and had made false statements during his nomination, which were contrary to the Representation of People Act and had materially affected the election results.
Alleging that Yadav had engaged in corrupt practices, Pandey contended that Yadav's nomination paper had been wrongly accepted.
The Supreme Court, in its 2002 verdict, held that voters have the right to know the correct antecedents of candidates contesting elections for MP or MLA, including their criminal past.
The Chhattisgarh High Court, on July 5, 2024, dismissed Yadav's plea questioning the maintainability of Pandey's petition.