The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to hear a plea by a Congress leader seeking simultaneous bypoll on two Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat. Supreme Court vacation bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice BR Gavai refused to entertain the petition, mentioning that the top court cannot interfere in matters concerning election.


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The petition was filed by Gujarat Congress MLA Pareshbhai Dhanani in connection with bypolls on Rajya Sabha seats vacated by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and Union ministers Amit Shah and Smriti Irani.


In a press note issued on June 15, the Election Commission had mentioned that Rajya Sabha by-elections to the two seats would be held separately on July 5. The plea by the Congress leader had demanded that the notification by the election commission be rejected as unconstitutional, illegal and null and void. According to Dhanani, the order was violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.


The plea sought that elections and by-elections on all vacant seats across the country must be held simultaneously.


In case of simultaneous by-elections on the Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat, there is probability of the Congress winning. And in case of separate by-elections, the BJP seems unstoppable. To win a Rajya Sabha seat in Gujarat, a candidate requires 61 votes.