Date: July 31, 2023

Madhya Pradesh Leader of Opposition, Govind Singh, has withdrawn a petition filed in the Supreme Court challenging the validity of Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia's election to the Rajya Sabha. The petition was filed in response to the Madhya Pradesh High Court's refusal to review an order framing issues in Singh's election petition.

In the petition, Singh, a Congress legislative assembly member, had raised concerns over Scindia's candidature as a returned candidate from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the June 2020 Rajya Sabha election. He alleged that Scindia had not disclosed particulars relating to a first information report (FIR) registered against him, which, according to the Representation of the People Act, 1951, requires all contesting candidates to furnish all necessary details in the nomination form and affidavit.

However, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had only framed a preliminary issue, questioning whether the mere registration of an FIR amounted to the pendency of a criminal case, attracting the disclosure provision under the RP Act. On July 7, 2023, the Supreme Court declined to interfere with the issue framed by the high court.

Represented before the Supreme Court by senior advocates NK Mody and Siddharth Bhatnagar, along with Advocate Fareha Ahmed Khan and a team from Karanjawala & Co. Advocates comprising Tahira Karanjawala, Arjun Sharma, and Shreyas Maheshwari, Scindia successfully defended his election to the Rajya Sabha.

With the withdrawal of the latest petition, the matter has been resolved, and the controversy surrounding Scindia's election has been put to rest.

Case Details:

• Petitioner: Govind Singh
• Respondent: Jyotiraditya M. Scindia & Ors.
• Case Number: Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 15745 of 2023