In relief to Lok Sabha MP Navneet Rana, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed her plea and set aside Bombay High Court order that had cancelled her caste certificate that she used to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in a reserved category seat.
A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Sanjay Karol allowed Navneet Rana’s plea challenging the Bombay High Court verdict cancelling her caste certificate.
Upholding the Navneet Rana caste certificate, the top court observed that the scrutiny committee duly considered the documents before it and passed its decision.
“In light of the discussion, the instant appeals stand allowed and the HC order is set aside,” the top court said.
The Bombay High Court had cancelled the caste certificate issued to Navneet Kaur Rana, the Member of Parliament from Maharashtra’s Amaravati, stating that it was obtained fraudulently using fabricated documents. Rana was fined Rs 2 lakh by the top court.
Reacting to the same, Navneet Rana said, “Those who raised questions about my birth got an answer today. I thank the Supreme Court. The truth always wins. This is a victory for those who walk on the path shown by Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.”
Earlier, Navneet Rana filed her nomination papers for the Amravati Lok Sabha seat and expressed optimism that people of the constituency.
“I have been working for the people of my region for many years. This is a big day for me and my constituency. This is the first time that voters in Amravati are getting a chance to vote for the nation-building, development and benefit of the nation,” she said.
#WATCH | After Supreme Court upholds her caste certificate, BJP MP Navneet Rana says "Those who raised questions on my birth got an answer today. I thank the Supreme Court. The truth always wins. This is a victory of those who walk on the path shown by Baba Saheb Ambedkar and… pic.twitter.com/cLmcXIbg49
— ANI (@ANI) April 4, 2024
“The people of my constituency are happier than me. They are happy that for the first time, the lotus symbol will appear on the ballot box. The people will directly support and vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” she further said.
Elected as an independent MP from Amravati in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Navneet Rana was inducted into the BJP in the presence of BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule in Nagpur last week.
Speaking about her first Lok Sabha win from Amravati, Rana said, “In 2019, when I contested the elections as an independent, the people of Amaravati supported me despite the huge political wave and at a time when I did not do any work in my constituency, I think they had the confidence that their voice would be heard at the Parliament.”
With 48 Lok Sabha seats, Maharashtra sends the second-highest number of legislators to the Lower House after Uttar Pradesh. Elections in the 48 parliamentary constituencies of Maharashtra will be held in five phases–April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, and May 20.In the 2019 elections, the BJP won 23 out of the 25 seats it contested, while the undivided Shiv Sena secured 18 of the 23 seats it fought for.
In 2014, the BJP won 23 seats and Shiv Sena 18. The undivided Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won 4 seats, while the Congress had to settle for just 2 seats.
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