The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to act against alleged hate speeches delivered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Anurag Thakur during Lok Sabha elections rallies.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Satish Chandra Sharma said that it was not inclined to interfere and rejected the petitions saying that the court cannot issue such a direction under Article 32.
The plea was filed by ex-IAS Officer EAS Sarma and a former IIM Dean Trilochan Sastry. The petitioner contended that the ECI has turned a "blind eye" to the nature of speeches delivered which constitutes a serious breach of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Representation of People Act, 1951.
"The Election Commission of India has failed to undertake decisive action, notwithstanding repeated efforts to notify and prompt the statutory body of its obligatory responsibilities," the plea stated.
Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for the petitioners said that in 2019, the top court entertained a similar petition and asked the Election Commission to file a reply.
The petition raised questions over the speeches given by PM Narendra Modi on April 21, and the Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur on April 27.
Yesterday, the Delhi High Court rejected a similar petition seeking action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders for allegedly making communal speeches and thus violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) amid the Lok Sabha polls.
A bench of Justice Sachin Datta of Delhi High Court junked the petition as "misconceived."
The plea in high court sought a direction on the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take immediate action and file FIRs against candidates for speeches in violation of MCC. The petition was filed against ECI for not acting against the speech made by PM Modi in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in April. The plea also sought action against BJP Chief JP Nadda and Union Minister Anurag Thakur.
Earlier on April 29, the same bench of the Delhi High Court rejected 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.
While dismissing the plea, the high 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 said petitions observed that they were thoroughly misconceived and the petitioner has assumed that there has been a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.