HC DISMISSES PLEA SEEKING MODI’S DISQUALIFICATION FOR ALLEGEDLY VIOLATING MCC

The Delhi high court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s disqualification from contesting elections for six years for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by “seeking votes in the name of god and places of worship” in a speech in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit.

It said the plea was “thoroughly misconceived” since the petitioner, advocate Anand S Jondhale, approached the court when the Election Commission of India (ECI) was yet to take a call on his complaint. The court said Jondhale presupposed that the speech violated MCC while calling it completely unjustified.

Jondhale filed his complaint with ECI on April 10. He also sought a first information report against Modi under the Indian Penal Code’s Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups).

“The present plea is thoroughly misconceived for multiple reasons. Firstly, once the petitioner has submitted its complaint dated 10/04/2024 before the ECI, there is no occasion for the petitioner to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this court, even prior to the disposal of the complaint by the ECI. The petitioner presupposes that there has been a violation of the model code of conduct, this presupposition is completely unjustified,” a bench of Justice Sachin Datta said. “Thirdly, it is not permissible for this court to direct ECI to take a particular view on the petitioner’s complaint or any other complaint for that matter and issue peremptory direction of the kind sought by the petitioner.”

In his complaint, Jondhale said Modi on April 9 allegedly sought votes for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the name of Hindu and Sikh deities and places of worship. He quoted Modi saying that he constructed the Ram Temple, developed the Kartarpur Corridor, removed Goods and Services Tax from the material used in langars served in gurdwara, and brought back copies of Guru Granth Sahib from Afghanistan.

Jondhale on Monday told the court that Modi’s speech was “dangerous” and could divide the country. Advocate Siddhant Kumar, who represented the ECI, said the poll body would “duly process” Jondhale’s complaint and pass appropriate orders.

The ECI last week issued separate notices seeking responses to complaints of violations of the MCC against Modi, Congress chief Mallikaarjun Kharge, and Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi, underlining campaign speeches of star campaigners need to be judged “at a higher threshold of compliance”.

The notices came days after Modi’s comments at an election rally in Rajasthan suggesting the Congress intended to redistribute public wealth to Muslims sparked a political row. Opposition leaders targeted Modi over the comments. Kharge called the remarks “hate speech”, and said that Modi had “lowered the dignity of political discourse”.

Read more news like this on HindustanTimes.com

2024-04-29T10:53:41Z dg43tfdfdgfd