Above: Narottam Mishra

Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra received a relief from the Supreme Court on Friday (July 28) when the apex court stayed the decision of Election Commission of India (ECI) to disqualify him from contesting elections for three years in a paid news case.

While, the apex court bench of Justices J Chelameswar and S Abdul Nazeer directed a division bench of the Delhi High Court to hear Mishra’s plea, Mishra can now continue as cabinet minister in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.

The case came to light when former Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti lost to Mishra from Dabra constituency in the 2008 and filed a complaint with the ECI accusing Mishra of getting paid news published in his favour during election campaigning.

—India Legal Bureau