New Delhi, Day after the Supreme Court sought response from Election Commission on plea of former BSF constable Tej Bahadur Yadav against rejection of his nomination from Varanasi Lok Sabha Constituency, the Top court on Thursday upheld EC’s move and dismissed the sacked soldier’s petition saying it lacked merit.

The SC also expressed satisfaction with EC’s decision.

“We don’t find any merit in the petition. We dismiss it,” the three-judge bench of the Apex Court, led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said today in its order, and dismissed the petition filed by Yadav.

Tej Bahadur, who had filed his papers on April 29 as a candidate of the Samajwadi Party (SP) from Varanasi, moved the Supreme Court after his candidature was rejected by the Returning officer as the period of five years from the date of his dismissal had not elapsed, in terms of section 9 of the Representation of the People Act 1951.

The SP had fielded Tej Bahadur as its candidate to fight against Narendra Modi from Varanasi Lok Sabha Constituency. Bahadur was dismissed from his service when he complained about the substandard quality of the food.