New Delhi, Aug 3 - The Supreme Court Monday refused to interfere with the Aug 10 bypoll to three Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra, dismissing a lawsuit which challenged the Election Commission's decision to hold it through three separate ballot papers rather than one ballot paper.

A bench of Justice H.S. Bedi and Justice J.M. Panchal dismissed the lawsuit saying that after beginning of the election process and issuance of the schedule by the poll panel, the constitution bars courts from interfering.

The Election Commission had issued on July 23 its poll schedule to fill the three vacancies arising after three Rajya Sabha members - Supriya Sule, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Praful Patel - got elected to the Lok Sabha in May this year.

The lawsuit was filed by Shiv Sena member Suresh Rahul Nawrekar, who contended that the decision to hold the elections separately through separate ballot papers negates the spirit of Article 84 of the Constitution, which lays down the principle of proportional representation through single transferable votes for the Rajya Sabha election.

Appearing for Nawrekar, senior counsel Harish Salve pleaded to the bench that the lawsuit involved an important legal question and needed to be converted into a public interest lawsuit.

But the bench refused to accede to his request, saying that for that the petitioner will have to approach the court of the Chief justice of India.

Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the principle of proportional representation through single transferable votes for the Rajya Sabha election, Nawrekar pointed out in his lawsuit.