NEW DELHI, July 7: Delhi High Court today adjourned hearing on a petition challenging election of All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sitaram Kesri. The next hearing was fixed on July 21 along with another petition.

Seeking quashing of the recently concluded elections of party president and other office-bearers and holding of fresh organisational polls, Congress MP from Orissa Anadi Charan Das, in his petition alleged that the party organisational polls which concluded on June 9 were held in gross violation of the provisions of the Congress constitution and should be immediately set aside.

Arguing for Das, Surat Singh said the court should quash the elections as they were violative of the fundamental right under Article 19 (1) (C) and Article 21 of the Constitution.

After hearing the arguments, single judge Arun Kumar ruled that the petition be attached with the one filed by former Congress MLA from Ghaziabad, K K Sharma.

``Let the matter be fixed along with the petition of Sharma for further hearing on July 21,'' the bench noted.

Contending that the court had already intervened in the Janata Dal polls, Singh said, ``If elections of Janata Dal are open to deep and pervasive intervention by the High Court and the Supreme Court, how can the court deny intervention in the Congress elections''.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.