The Delhi High Court on Monday junked a plea seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for six years for allegedly seeking votes for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the name of deities and places of worship. The court said that ECI will decide on the plea and it is not permissible for the high court to direct ECI to take a particular view on any complaint.
Justice Sachin Datta of the high court while rejecting the petition observed that the plea was "thoroughly misconceived" as the petitioner has assumed that there has been a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
Advocate Siddhant Kumar appearing for ECI assured the court that the commission will look into the petitioner's complaint in accordance with the law. He asserted that ECI is a constitutional body and will process it. He further told the court that the ECI receives such complaints on a daily basis.
Anand S Jondhale, a lawyer by profession moved the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the ECI to disqualify the Prime Minister from elections for six years under Representation of Peoples Act. The plea also sought to restrain him from asking for votes in the name of religious deities and places of worship.
The petitioner filed a complaint with ECI against PM Modi's speech delivered on April 09 in Uttar Pradesh, where he reportedly said that he has constructed the Ram Temple, developed Kartarpur Sahib Corridor and brought back the copies of Guru Granth Sahib from Afghanistan.
He further contends that PM Modi not only asked for votes in the name of Hindu and Sikh Deities and their Places of Worship, but also made comments saying the Opposition was "favouring Muslims."
The court however, did not intervene as ECI is an independent body and has the power to decide the complaint and ascertain whether there was a violation of MCC in the first place.