The Curious 'Case' Of Meenakshi Natarajan's Rajya Sabha Papers Rejection

The Rajya Sabha election nomination of Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan for a seat from Madhya Pradesh was on Tuesday rejected by the Election Commission following complaints that she had not disclosed the details of a "case" against her in her nomination papers.

The "case" in question is said to have been filed against the Congress leader in Telangana. The rejection by the Returning Officer came on the complaint by senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh Minister, Kailash Vijayvargiya. The complaint contended that a case involving Natarajan is pending before a Telangana court and was not disclosed in her nomination affidavit.

Natarajan and the Congress have rejected the allegation and have called the rejection "BJP's attempt to manipulate the Rajya Sabha election". The rejection has left Congress high and dry as the party cannot field another candidate now since the last date of filing nominations was June 8.

What Is The 'Case'?  

The curious case against Meenakshi Natarajan, who is also the Congress Telangana in-charge, involves a private complaint by a former corporate executive A Srilatha. The complaint, first filed in 2022, was regarding the conduct of a state Congress leader Kumbham Shivakumar Reddy. Srilatha had claimed that certain political leaders provided political patronage or failed to act despite being informed of her allegations.

The complaint included allegations of harassment, molestation, threats, and inaction by party functionaries.  

A top police source privy to the matter told NDTV that Srilatha had earlier approached Hyderabad police in 2022 against the accused Kumbham Shivakumar Reddy but the case was disposed of due to a lack of evidence.

Her later private complaints in Hyderabad and Bengaluru too were disposed of, according to the source.

Natarajan's Name Came Much Later

However, in 2025 Srilatha filed a petition at the 4th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Nampally, Hyderabad, where Meenakshi Natarajan was named as accused number 4.

According to the complainant, she had also raised the matter of alleged harassment by Reddy before Meenakshi Natarajan, who was then associated with the Congress organisation in Telangana. Srilatha alleged that despite provisions in the Congress constitution for disciplinary action, no action was taken against the leader concerned.

So, Meenakshi Natarajan's name came up in the later complaint in 2025 and not in the first one in 2022.  

Accepting the petition, the court issued notices to respondents and Natarajan replied to the court notice. 

Is Meenakshi Natarajan An Accused?

The police officer NDTV spoke to further added that as per the new provisions of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), Meenakshi Natarajan and others are not accused but respondents as the court has not taken cognisance of the matter. The case is in a preliminary stage awaiting hearing.

He elaborated that Meenakshi Natarajan was treated as a respondent and not an accused as per Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which governs the examination of complainants and witnesses in criminal cases, replacing Section 200 of the old CrPC. It requires a Magistrate to examine the complainant on oath before proceeding with a case.

Natarajan's counsel has also stated that there is no criminal case against her, arguing that Srilatha merely filed a private petition and that no adverse directions have been issued by the court.  

Senior Advocate and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi termed the rejection of nomination "patently and blatantly illegal". He insisted that no criminal case in the eyes of law exists against Natarajan, so there is no criminal case for her to disclose.

"In a private complaint, which anyone can file against anyone, unless and until the magistrate or the concerned judge takes cognizance, no criminal case comes into existence. So where is the question of a criminal case existing, which she had to disclose? A mere notice from a court is not liable to be disclosed," Singhvi stated.