Supreme Court dismisses plea of Tej Bahadur challenging the election of PM Modi from Varanasi

New Delhi (ILNS): The three-judge bench of Chief Justice S. A. Bobde and Justices A. S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian dismissed a plea filed by ex-border Security Force (BSF) Constable,  Tej Bahadur challenging the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Varanasi Constituency in the Lok Sabha elections held last year.

Tej Bahadur had filed a petition before the Allahabad High Court to set aside PM Modi’s election since his own nomination as Samajwadi Party’s candidate from Varanasi had been rejected by the election commission.

The Allahabad High Court, however, dismissed his petition and held that Tej Bahadur could not question the election of PM Modi, since he was neither a candidate nor an elector from the said constituency.

Thereafter, he approached the Supreme Court, challenging the Allahabad High Court order. Tej Bahadur had at first filed his nomination as an independent candidate from Varanasi constituency. However later he entered his nomination as a Samajwadi Party candidate.

It is alleged that he was terminated from service after a video went viral where he exposed cheap quality of food being served to the armed forces.

Reportedly, his nomination papers were rejected by the Returning Officer on the grounds that he failed to submit a certificate clarifying that that his dismissal was not on ground of disloyalty or corruption.

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