Friday, May 5 2006 15:19 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The petition for disqualification of senior BJP leader V K Malhotra from Lok Sabha on charges of holding office of profit has been dismissed.

President A P J Abdul Kalam has issued a notification to this effect in the wake of the Election Commission's opinion on a petition filed by one local advocate Anubhav Anand Aron alleging that Malhotra was holding the office of President of All India Council of Sports from July 2002 to July 2004.

Malhotra was elected to Lok Sabha on May, 2004 from South Delhi.

The EC said it is well settled under Article 103(1)of the Constitution that the jurisdiction of the President to decide the question of disqualification of a sitting MP arises only in disqualifications incurred after election as a member.

"The petition does not contain any allegation, whatsoever, that Malhotra was appointed to this post at any point of time after his election to the Lok Sabha in 2004, the EC said adding it has 'no jurisdiction' to express any opinion on the question of such alleged pre-election disqualification.

"The present petition is, therfore, not maintainable before the President", it said.

The decision on Malhotra's case comes close on the heels of the disqualification of Jaya Bachchan recently.

It has received complaints against as many as 43 MPs, including Union Ministers, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and a number of Chief Ministers and over 200 MLAs from various states including Punjab, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh,Delhi and Arunachal Pradesh.