NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain Congress' plea for simultaneous polls to two Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat , clearing the way for the Election Commission to hold separate byelections to the two seats which fell vacant after the election of BJP chief Amit Shah and Union minister Smriti Irani to Lok Sabha.

A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai refused to interfere in the election process saying the notification for the polls has been issued and the party can file an election petition to challenge the Commission's decision after the polls are over.

The petition, filed by leader of opposition in Gujarat assembly, Paresh Dhanani, sought quashing of the EC's June 15 notification treating the two seats as stray vacancies warranting separate elections. He said holding of separate elections for the two seats would deny Congress one of the seats which it is entitled to according to its strength in the assembly and by the law mandating proportional representation with single transferable vote for RS.

Senior advocate Vivek Tankha, appearing for the petitioner, contended that two seats fell vacant on the same day and the judgment of the Bombay and Delhi high courts on the issue was in his favour. He pleaded the court to examine and decide the issue.

The bench, however, said the writ petition filed by Dhanani cannot be entertained as the notification has been issued and the only remedy left is to file the election petition.

