The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain the plea by the Congress party against the Election Commission's decision to hold separate bypolls to two Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat.
The apex court had sought a reply last week from the Election Commission of India on Gujarat Congress' petition seeking simultaneous elections to the two Rajya Sabha seats in the state.
A vacation bench comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Surya Kant asked the poll body to file its response by Monday and listed the matter for a hearing on Tuesday.
Opposing the plea, the EC counsel had argued: "This is the first time that Article 32, the citizen right to directly invoke the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for the violation of its fundamental rights, has been invoked before the apex court."
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The court, however, clarified that there was merit in the plea filed by Pareshbhai Dhanani, Congress MLA from Amreli and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly.
In his plea, Dhanani opposed the EC's decision to conduct separate bypolls to the two Rajya Sabha seats. Filed through advocate Varun K. Chopra, the petition sought an early hearing on the matter as the elections for the two seats were scheduled for July 5.
The seats fell vacant after BJP leaders Amit Shah and Smriti Irani were elected to the Lok Sabha in the recently-held general elections.
(PTI)
