The seats of BJP president Amit Shah and Union minister Smriti Irani fell vacant after they moved to the Lok Sabha..

AMN / New Delhi

The Supreme Court today issued a notice to the Election Commission over a petition filed by the Congress for simultaneous elections in two Rajya Sabha seats that fell vacant after BJP chief Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani moved to the Lok Sabha from Gandhinagar and Amethi respectively.

Seeking a response by June 24, a vacation bench of justices Deepak Gupta and Surya Kant listed the matter for hearing on June 25, saying the issue required to be heard. The bench said, “It is not an issue which can be taken up through an election petition and therefore, requires to be heard.”

Senior advocate Vivek Tankha, appearing for the Gujarat Congress, said there were judgments of the Delhi High court which were in their favour. To this, the bench said, “We are not saying anything for now. We need to decide whether it is a casual vacancy or a statutory vacancy. This matter requires hearing.”

Shah’s seat was declared vacant on May 28 after he won his first Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar in Gujarat in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, while Irani’s seat was notified as vacant a day later.