New Delhi, Nov 17 (TIWN) The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a PIL seeking to declare 'null & void' elections of those chargesheeted and facing a minimum of 5 years in jail under the charges.

A bench headed by Justice LN Rao said the petitioner can pursue remedies for the implementation of an earlier judgement delivered by the apex court, which had in 2018 left it to Parliament to make laws to ensure that persons facing serious criminal cases do not enter the political arena.  A five-judge Constitution bench had in September 2018 said that though criminalisation of politics is a "bitter manifest truth" which is a "termite" to the citadel of democracy, it cannot "usurp the power" of law-making which is vested with the legislature.  The bench, also comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and Ajay Rastogi, was on Monday hearing the plea filed by NGO 'Lok Prahari'.  SN Shukla, general secretary of the petitioner NGO, told the bench that election of persons facing criminal charges is contrary to rule of law and free and fair election and it negates the resolve of the Constitution to provide justice to all.  He said that issue raised in the plea was not before the constitution bench which had delivered the verdict in 2018.